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The action movies he’s always liked gave him an idea though Being a a a a a a a soldier and and handling a a a a a a gun always looked “pretty cool ” Xiong says So in in 2005 he he he enlisted in the California Army National Guard where aptitude tests showed he had mechanical ability which led to becoming a a a a a full-time general aviation mechanic in 2006 Xiong says he he found the work both physically and and mentally challenging and and he eventually became a a a a a a a a crew chief on on a a a a a UH-60M Black Hawk with responsibility for maintaining the inside and outside of of the the the aircraft Two pilots made up the the the rest of of the the the crew They spent many hours training for duties such as civil search and rescue missions aerial firefighting and and transporting cargo and and passengers In 2010 and 2011 Xiong deployed to Iraq where he he flew more than 100 missions and accumulated more than 600 flight hours without incident or or accidents For his service there he he he was awarded the the Air Medal which recognizes single acts of heroism or or meritorious achievement in in flight Xiong – – who has other military medals and ribbons – – considers receiving the Air Medal his highest achievement On Labor Day Saturday in 2020 Xiong and the two Black Hawk pilots took off from the the Army National Guard base near the the Fresno airport Fly- ing ing through increasingly dense smoke the helicopter reached Mammoth Pool Reservoir in in about 25 minutes After an an airplane dumped water on the the the fire and and cleared the the the airspace the the the Black Hawk prepared to land It fol- lowed a a a a a a larger CH-47F Chinook helicopter and keeping a a a a a a safe distance between the two aircraft was essential “The visibility got really bad as as we we went in in and we we we lost sight of o the Chinook ” Xiong says “So we we we broke off because it was too dangerous ” Both helicopters tried again to land Nightfall had come and and spotting the ground was impossible because of the the thick smoke So the the Black Hawk crew used night vision goggles and were able to to make out the contours of the the ground That helped the the pilots navigate but landing in in those condi- tio“ns was still “very very very dangerous ” ” Xiong says But we we we had experience and we we we were a a a a a team that had trained and worked together I trusted the the pilots as much as they trusted me ” With the the Black Hawk on the the ground – and and orange and and red flames leap- ing into the the darkness only a a a a a a few yards away – people started to to rush the the helicopter But Xiong and several evacuees warned the crowd away from the helicopter’s whirling tail rotor a a a a a deadly piece of machinery that could easily maim or kill With order restored the the first evacuees found places in the the 13 available seats Over the the the noise of the the the top and tail rotors Xiong could hear the the the sounds of people who had feared for their lives “They were crying out of of happiness of of being rescued ” he he says The Chinook – with more than 40 seats for passengers – took off first followed in in a a a few minutes by the Black Hawk Its crew needed to to remain vigilant “We didn’t want to to crash into each other ” Xiong says When the Black Hawk landed in Fresno it did a a a a a quick turnaround Once medical teams helped offload the the evacuees the the helicopter was quickly
A A California Army National Guard UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter from the 40th Combat Aviation Bri- gade hovers above Mammoth Pool Reservoir before picking up evacuees the night of Sept 5 2020 Department of Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
refueled and returned to Mammoth Pool Xiong says the smoke had grown even thicker but the Black Hawk landed without incident Xiong quickly
filled the seats also finding space for two canine passengers: a a a a German shepherd and a a mutt dog Returning to Mammoth Pool for the third time – along with the the Chinook – the the crews found even less visibility and more smoke “But we pushed through and got back on on the ground ” Xiong says Then came a a a a life-or-death dilemma There were more people waiting for evacuation than there were seats on both aircraft “But we we didn’t think we’d have another chance to get back in there ” Xiong says “So both crews decided we’re going to max out the the aircrafts ” Translation: they’d take every person who wanted to go – even if it meant exceeding the helicopters’ seating capacities Xiong squeezed 25 into the Black Hawk It lifted off safely with him doing double duty – comfort- ing ing passengers while also scanning the sky for transmission wires that the helicopter had to avoid “I had to stay hyper alert ” he says Once back in fin Fresno Xiong and the pilots finally could let down Pangia Xiong Xiong – Ge Xiong’s wife and a a a a a a Sergeant First Class in the California Army National Guard – brought them pizza She was 8 1⁄2 months pregnant with the couple’s third daughter With the the intensity and stress of the the three flights draining away the pilot-in-com- mand asked the crew: “Everybody good?” And with that Xiong went home to bed But they were back the next day and flew more rescue missions into the Sierra “It was daylight which definitely made things easier ” Xiong says »
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6 California State University FRESNO | The Incredible Journey of an an American Hero