September 15, 1999
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three Air Force pilots were awarded the
prestigious Silver Star on Wednesday for gallantry in NATO's air war
against Yugoslavia, including the helicopter pilot who commanded a daring
nighttime rescue of a shot-down fighter pilot.
Capt. James L. Cardoso led a team of three Air Force search-and-rescue
deep into Serb territory on the moonless night of March 27 -- just three
days into the war -- and retrieved the F-117A pilot, even as Serbian
soldiers who had intercepted the downed pilot's radio messages closed in
on
him.
In a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, Silver Stars
also were awarded to two F-16 pilots, Capt. Sonny P. Blinkinsop and
Capt. Adam B. Kavlick, for their role in the war.
The F-117A incident was one of the most sensational of the 78-day NATO
air campaign. Serb TV pictures of the downed fighter gave Belgrade a
momentary propoganda victory, but it turned out to be the first of only
two
downings of NATO aircraft; no allied crews were lost during the air
campaign.
The Pentagon never has identified the F-117A pilot, and it had not
previously disclosed the name of anyone involved in the rescue. The official
citation accompanying Cardoso's Silver Star award offered more details
of
the rescue mission than previously known _ including the fact that Serb
soldiers and their search dogs were 30 feet from the downed pilot before
he
was plucked from the ground.
The successful rescue was a "critical and essential victory" for NATO,
according to the award citation, because it denied Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic "the political, military and media exploitation of parading
a downed American 'stealth fighter' pilot in front of news cameras." At
stake
were U.S. public support for the war effort, NATO's resolve to keep
bombing, and aircrew morale, it said.
Among other details of the 51/2-hour rescue mission not previously
disclosed:
_Three Serb Army brigades of infantry, combat engineers and armored
forces were 10 miles from where the downed F-117A pilot landed, and the
Serbs were closing on his position as the rescue unfolded.
_The downed pilot's infrared strobe light, used to mark his position for
rescue, was not working, so he lit a flare that gave away his exact position
to
the Serbs. Cardoso's MH-53M helicopter was only a half-mile away at that
point, and he directed an MH-60 helicopter crew to perform the pick-up.
_Cardoso and his team of special operations helicopters flew at tree-top
level out of Serbia -- through layers of air defense forces now fully alerted
to
their location. They evaded barrages of anti-aircraft fire, search lights
and
small arms fire en route to Tuzla Air Base in northeastern Bosnia.
One of the other Silver Star recipients also was involved in the rescue
of a
downed U.S. pilot, though in much different circumstances. Capt. Adam
Kavlick was flying lead in a group of F-16CJs on a mission to destroy Serb
SA-3 and SA-6 surface-to-air missile batteries near the city of Novi Sad
on
May 2 when his wingman was struck by an SA-3 missile, causing engine
failure and forcing the pilot to eject.
Kavlick established the pilot's position, heard his survival beacon, made
radio contact with him and marshaled the forces necessary for a rescue.
Once during the 90-minute wait for rescue helicopters to arrive on the
scene,
Kavlick's formation of F-16s was shot at by surface-to-air missiles and
anti-aircraft guns. Kavlick remained on station, however, to coordinate
the
unfolding rescue.
The third Silver Star went to Capt. Sonny Blinkinsop, an F-16CJ pilot cited
for risking his life to ensure the safety of a large group of U.S. and
British
strike aircraft that encountered heavy fire from Serb air defenses near
Obrva
on May 2. At one point all three of Blinkinsop's wingmen were maneuvering
to avoid SA-3 missiles, so Blinkinsop fired a HARM missile to destroy the
radar linked to the SA-3s.
"The timely and heroic engagement of the SA-3 by Capt. Blinkinsop, at
great personal risk to himself, had forced the threat to shut down and
allowed his wingmen to successfully evade its deadly missiles," the Silver
Star citation said.
