MAJ Travis Wofford

Major TRAVIS WOFFORD, United States Air Force: For heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as a rescue helicopter copilot near Dak Nay Puey, Republic of Vietnam, on 15 April 1970. On that date, Major Wofford was engaged in the rescue of a crew of a United States Army helicopter which was shot down by enemy ground fire. Although Major Wofford was wounded by enemy ground fire during two earlier rescue attempts, he chose to continue with the rescue operations. On the third attempt, the helicopter was severely damaged by an intense burst of heavy automatic weapons fire. When the helicopter lost power and crashed, Major Wofford, with complete disregard for his personal safety and despite his painful injuries, freed himself from the wreckage and then attempted to free the pilot, who was instantly killed on impact. He then observed the other members of the crew engulfed in flames and, with sheer determination and a deep concern for his fellowmen, he rushed to their aid, extinguished the flames and then dragged the aircrew members to a place of safety from which they were rescued. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship and aggressiveness in the face of an opposing armed force, Major Wofford reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

Major Wofford joined the Legion of Valor in 2005 and resided in Washington State.