Wayne Fisk

{{Short description|US Air Force pararescueman}} {{BLP sources|date=January 2013}} {{Infobox military person |name= Wayne Fisk |image= Fisk111111.jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= |nickname= |birth_date= {{Birth date and age|1945|4|6}} |birth_place= Waldport, Oregon, U.S. |death_date= |death_place= |burial_place= |allegiance= United States |branch= United States Air Force |service_years= 1966–1993 |rank= Chief Master Sergeant |service_number= |unit= |commands= |battles= Vietnam War Mayagüez incident |awards= Silver Star (2) Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross (2) Meritorious Service Medal (2) Air Medal (18) Air Force Commendation Medal (2) Air Force Achievement Medal (2) |relations= |other_work= }}

Chief Master Sergeant '''Wayne Fisk''' (born April 6, 1945) is a retired United States Air Force pararescueman. He was involved in Operation Ivory Coast, the raid on the Son Tay prisoner of war camp, and later the rescue of the crew of the SS ''Mayagüez''.<ref name="Moody">{{cite web | url=http://www.moody.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123016643 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140513083229/http://www.moody.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123016643 | url-status=dead | archive-date=May 13, 2014 | title=Retired chief shares life's journey as PJ | date=Feb 17, 2006 | accessdate=May 13, 2014 | author=Felder, S I}}</ref> When the ''Mayagüez'' was hijacked by Cambodian Communist forces in May 1975, Fisk was a member of the assault force that successfully recovered the ship and the entrapped United States Marines. For his actions, he was awarded his second Silver Star.

Concluding the ''Mayagüez'' mission, Fisk was recognized as the last American serviceman to engage Communist forces in ground combat in Southeast Asia. In 1979, he was the first Air Force enlisted recipient of the US Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men of America. In 1986, he became the first director of the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall on Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex.

==Early life== Wayne Fisk was born in Waldport, Oregon, on April 6, 1945, and raised on the Oregon Coast. In high school, Wayne was a member of the honor society, an award-winning cadet in the Alaska Civil Air Patrol, and he even turned down an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy to care for his terminally ill mother. In March 1966, Fisk enlisted in the Air Force and was accepted for pararescue training.

==Air Force career== In 1967, Fisk served at Eglin AFB, Florida, until assigned to the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (40th ARRS) at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, performing combat rescue missions in both Laos and North Vietnam.<ref name=50th>{{cite web|url=https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/history_and_legacy/oral_history/fisk,-wayne/|title=Fisk, Wayne Air Force|publisher=Vietnam war commemoration|date=3 May 2014|access-date=8 November 2024}}</ref> One year later, he transferred to Kindley Air Force Base, Bermuda, as a member of the Air Force primary recovery team for Apollo missions 8, 9 and 10.<ref name=USAFM>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/3464833/chief-master-sergeant-wayne-fisk-high-risk-high-reward/|title=Chief Master Sergeant Wayne Fisk High Risk, High Reward|publisher=United States Air Force Museum|access-date=8 November 2024}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>

After only 11 months in Bermuda, Fisk voluntarily returned to Southeast Asia for two more consecutive tours with the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.<ref name=50th/> It was during this time that then-Staff Sergeant Fisk participated in Operation Ivory Coast, the raid on the Son Tay prisoner of war camp, in November 1970 and received the Silver Star for his actions.<ref name=USAFM/> From 1972 to 1974, he instructed at the USAF Pararescue School at Hill AFB, Utah, and was honored as the training wing's outstanding NCO instructor. thumb|right|Fisk preparing to board a 40th ARRS CH-53 Fisk later returned to the 40th ARRS in Thailand as a technical sergeant and participated in Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In May 1975, when Cambodian communist forces hijacked the ''Mayagüez'' in what came to be known as the Mayaguez incident. Fisk, flying aboard ''Knife 51'', a 21st Special Operations Squadron CH-53, was a member of the assault force that successfully recovered the ship, attempted to rescue the crew, and liberated the entrapped US Marines. ''Knife 51'' was the last helicopter to evacuate the Marines from Koh Tang and Fisk was the last Air Force serviceman to leave the ground, having combed the beach for stragglers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dunham |first=George R |title=U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973–1975 (Marine Corps Vietnam Operational Historical Series) |publisher=Marine Corps Association |year=1990|url=https://archive.org/details/TheBitterEnd|isbn=9780160264559|page=[https://archive.org/details/TheBitterEnd/page/n271 262]}}{{PD-notice}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Wetterhahn|first=Ralph|title=The Last Battle: The Mayaguez Incident and the end of the Vietnam War|publisher=Plume|year=2002|isbn=0-452-28333-7|pages=246–8}}</ref> Fisk received his second Silver Star for this operation.<ref name=USAFM/>

In January 1976, Fisk moved to Clark AB, Philippines, to be an Assistant Team Chief, Team Chief, and Acting First Sergeant for Det 1, 33 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (AARS). In 1979, Fisk was honored as the first USAF enlisted man named to the US Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men of America, the Military Airlift Command's Senior NCO of the Year, the US Air Force's Outstanding Airman in the Philippines; and a recipient of the Air Force Association's Citation of Honor. In October 1979 Fisk worked at Headquarters, Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, Scott AFB, Illinois, as the Pararescue Standardization and Evaluation Flight Examiner.

After a parachute injury in 1980, Fisk left pararescue duty to serve as an instructor at the USAF Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Gunter AFS, Alabama. As a newly minted chief master sergeant, Fisk led the effort to establish the USAF Enlisted Heritage Hall and later became the director.<ref name=USAFM/> His final Air Force assignment came when he was assigned as the Operations Coordinator in the Defense Attache Office, Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa, Canada.<ref>[https://archive.today/20070421041324/http://www.au.af.mil/au/goe/eagle_bios/2005/fisk_2005.html ACSC GOE: Wayne L. Fisk 2005 Biography]</ref> [[File:Wayne Fisk and Larry Holmes.jpg|thumb|Fisk (on the left) and Larry Holmes with their US Jaycees trophies, in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1979.]] Fisk's awards and decorations include the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Air Medal with 18 oak leaf clusters.

Fisk is married to the former Angelina Arceo from the Philippines. According to some sources, he is the father of the Pararescue tradition of getting tattoos of green footprints on one's buttocks.<ref>[https://archive.today/20070421041324/http://www.au.af.mil/au/goe/eagle_bios/2005/fisk_2005.html ACSC GOE: Wayne L. Fisk 2005 Biography]</ref>

In May 2023 Fisk received the United States Special Operations Command's Bull Simons Award.

==Military awards and decorations== {| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |colspan="3"|130px |- |colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Silver Star ribbon.svg|width=106}}{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=US Defense Superior Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|other_device=v|ribbon=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=16|type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Air Force Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Achievement Medal USAF.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=3|type=oak|ribbon=AF Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.png|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Joint Meritorious Unit Award-3d.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Outstanding Unit ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Organizational_Excellence_ ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Navy_Unit_Commendation_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=3|type=oak|ribbon=Combat Readiness Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=8|type=oak|ribbon=Air_Force_Good_Conduct_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Outstanding_Airman_of_the_Year_Ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Ribbon}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National_Defense_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expedtionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=8|type=service-star|ribbon=Vietnam Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Humanitarian Service ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=oak|ribbon=Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=U.S. Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=5|type=oak|ribbon=Air Force Longevity Service ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=USAF NCO PME Graduate Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=USAF Marksmanship ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Air Force Training Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Vietnamese Gallantry Cross, with palm.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-V|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=106}} |- |colspan="3"|90px |}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |- |colspan="12"|Master Parachutist Badge |- |colspan="3"|Silver Star<ref name="MilTimes">{{cite web | url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/23469 | title=Valor awards for Wayne Lewis Fisk | publisher=Military Times | access-date=May 13, 2014}}</ref> |colspan="3"|Defense Superior Service Medal |- |colspan="2"|Legion of Merit<ref name="MilTimes" /> |colspan="2"|Distinguished Flying Cross w/ Combat "V"<ref name="MilTimes" /> |colspan="2"|Meritorious Service Medal |- |colspan="2"|Air Medal (19 total awards) |colspan="2"|Air Medal |colspan="2"|Commendation Medal |- |colspan="2"|Achievement Medal |colspan="2"|Presidential Unit Citation |colspan="2"|Joint Meritorious Unit Award |- |colspan="2"|Outstanding Unit Award |colspan="2"|Organizational Excellence Award |colspan="2"|Navy Unit Commendation |- |colspan="2"|Combat Readiness Medal |colspan="2"|Good Conduct Medal |colspan="2"|Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon |- |colspan="2"|National Defense Service Medal |colspan="2"|Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal |colspan="2"|Vietnam Service Medal |- |colspan="2"|Humanitarian Service Medal |colspan="2"|Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon |colspan="2"|Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon |- |colspan="2"|Air Force Longevity Service Award |colspan="2"|NCO PME Graduate Ribbon |colspan="2"|Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon |- |colspan="2"|Air Force Training Ribbon |colspan="2"|Vietnam Gallantry Cross |colspan="2"|Vietnam Campaign Medal |- |colspan="12"|Air Force Scuba Diver insignia |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1775 Veteran Tributes profile]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisk, Wayne}} Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:United States Air Force airmen Category:Recipients of the Silver Star Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Category:People from Lincoln County, Oregon Category:People of the Civil Air Patrol Category:Recipients of the Air Medal Category:Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Category:Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal