[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Senate] [Page 22423] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]ALASKA NATIONAL GUARDSMEN RECEIVE MACKAY TROPHY Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I would like to take this time to pay tribute to the men of Air Force Rescue 470, from the 210th Rescue Squadron in the Alaska Air National Guard. These five men, stationed at Kulis Air National Guard Base in Anchorage, Alaska, recently received the Mackay Trophy. The Mackay Trophy is given each year to the person or crew in the United States Air Force for what is considered the most meritorious flight of the year. The crew of Air Force Rescue 470 certainly deserve this prestigious award. Let me tell you a little bit about the rescue they performed which led to this recognition. On May 27, 1998, six people, including two small children, flying in the Tordrillo Mountains, suddenly crashed into a glacier about 10,500 feet above sea level. These people were trapped in their plane, with darkness coming and the temperature dropping. Because they were not dressed for the extreme cold that would come, these six people would surely not survive the night. Fortunately for them, they had some of the best trained, best equipped, and bravest men were on the way to the crash site. This was not an easy rescue by any means. It was already extremely cold, visibility was only \1/8\ of a mile, the wind was anywhere between ten and forty knots, and the crashed plane was high up the mountain. Normally any one of these factors would make a rescue attempt extremely risky. But Air Force Rescue 470 had to contend with all sorts of deterrents in order to rescue these people before nightfall came. The crew had to fly up to an altitude of over 12,000 feet because of the visibility problem. The thin air made it difficult for the helicopter blades to keep the aircraft aloft and for the men to breathe. As soon as a hole in the clouds appeared, they dove down into the mountainous terrain to land. The weather was only getting worse, and the pararescuers had only fifty minutes, because of the limited fuel supply, to pry open the wreckage of the downed plane, get everyone out, and get them all safely back to the helicopter, six hundred feet away. All six lives were saved. Mr. President, I know that the crew of Air Force Rescue 470 were simply happy to be serving their country on this day back in May of 1998. I also know that they have made countless other rescues, just as have other Rescue units around the country. But I am especially proud that these fine young men of the Alaska Air National Guard were chosen for the Mackay Trophy. So to Lieutenant Colonel John Jacobs, the pilot, First Lieutenant Thaddeus Stolar, the copilot, Master Sergeant Scott Hamilton, Master Sergeant Steve Daigle, and Technical Sergeant Greg Hopkins, the pararescuers, I congratulate you. Both Alaska and the Nation thank you for your continued efforts to save lives. ____________________