‘Spooky 71 – The fire before the storm’
Douglas AC-47D Spooky 43-48770 of the 3rd Special Operations Squadron, 14th Special Operations Wing based at Bin Thuy, South Vietnam, circles the US Army post 
at Long Binh on the night of February 24 1969. Major Kenneth Carpenter and his crew are engaging enemy positions around the post and illuminating them 
with flares. In a few moments, an 81mm mortar round will impact the starboard wing, riddling the aircraft with shrapnel and  badly wounding five of the eight man crew. 
The loadmaster, 23 year old Airman 1st Class John Lee Levitow, despite 40 wounds and the loss of use of his right leg, will save Airman Ellis Owen’s 
life by dragging him back from the open door, then save the aircraft by throwing himself on an armed Mk 24 flare and wrestling it out  of the door a second before it ignites. 
John Levitow will go on to fly 20 more missions after he recovered from his wounds and was rightly awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his incredible heroism on this night.