Lance Sijan, a United States Air Force officer and a fighter pilot, posthumously received the Medal of Honor, which is the highest military award, for his act of selflessness and courage. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in April 13, 1942. His father, Sylvester Sijan was a restaurant owner who comes from a Serbian ancestry. His mother, Jane Sijan was Irish-American. Lance was the eldest of the three children.
He went to Bay View High School and after graduating he attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Bainbridge, Maryland. He was then appointed to the Air force Academy in Colorado, after completing the program. While attending the academy, he joined the football team for three years, but in his final year he quit the team in order to focus on his studies. He graduated in 1965 earning a second lieutenant’s commission and commenced pilot training. Following that he was assigned to the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Wing, which is stationed at Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam. He flew as an aircraft commander and a combat systems officer in an F-4C Phantom, a 20 ton, two seat fighter bomber. Sijan’s 52nd …show more content…
Seven of the aircrafts were heavily damaged and an A-1E Sandy was lost. Sijan evaded the enemies for more than 42 days despite having many injuries; a skull fracture, a mangled right hand, and a compound fracture of his left leg during his ejection from the aircraft. He also suffered from the shock and went into an extreme weight loss due to the lack of food and water. Unable to stay conscious, Sijan collapsed along a road, which was the Chi Minh Trail. On December 25, 1967, Sijan was found in poor condition and unresponsive by North Vietnamese troops and became the prisoner of war. He was taken to a NVA road camp. He received small medical attention and after regaining consciousness, Sijan was given some food and