MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Adversity is a fact of life. Airmen need the quality that allows them to be knocked down and come back as strong, if not stronger than before. Rather than letting difficulties or failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise. Minot Air Force Base Airmen are quick to display this trait.
Captain Lance P. Sijan was a fighter pilot and Unites States Air Force Medal of Honor recipient who was shot down by the North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War. He evaded capture for three weeks, all while enduring life threatening injuries. Sijan was eventually captured by the enemy and succumbed to his injuries as a prisoner of war in the Hoa Lo Prison, Vietnam.
Sijan displayed superb bravery and leadership skills with his actions, which in turn created the Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award. It recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the highest qualities of leadership, and is one of the Air Force’s most prestigious awards.
Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Fitzgerald, 91st Security Forces Group Tactical Response Force Flight Chief and NCO in charge, received the Sijan award for his outstanding leadership skills Dec. 5th, 2019 at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.
“If I had to choose one point in time where I felt I earned this award,” said Fitzgerald. “It would have to be when I was filling in for the First Sergeant a while ago.”
Fitzgerald said an Airman came to him about a family member who had taken their own life. They worked with their commander to get that Airman on a plane home within 36 hours. Upon return, he said they had a heart to heart conversation.
“I felt that I did the right thing in helping that individual in their time of need,” said Fitzgerald. “Minot is a hard place to be.”
Fitzgerald says that even though Minot is a very challenging place to live, it is also the perfect place for a person to bloom.
“I have a different perspective of Minot than others,” said Fitzgerald. “I have a son with my ex-wife down south, in Keesler Air Force Base. The seclusion of Minot is what got to me.”
Fitzgerald says it’s been very hard for him the past four years, but Minot Air Force Base has given him so many opportunities.
“It’s not hard to jump into Minot and start to incorporate yourself into the group,” said Fitzgerald. “To become a leader, follower, a member of the Minot team. You’re never going to have the opportunities somewhere else that you would have here.”
While Minot Air Force Base and the jungles of Vietnam are vastly different, both Sijan and Fitzgerald displayed an immense amount of bravery and leadership through their selfless actions.