INDIAN SPRINGS, NV – An Air Force drone pilot who managed to fly his MQ-9 Reaper for 120 straight hours through multiple firefights will receive the Medal of Honor, Air Force officials confirmed today. Major Curtis Beasley will be the first Airman to receive the nation's highest award since the Vietnam War.
He is also the first American to receive the Medal of Honor for actions taken inside the United States since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Beasley, from Dubuque, Iowa, will receive the award for his actions at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada during the first days of August 2010. In a week of heavy combat he stayed at his console for more than five straight days, remotely piloting his Reaper drone through dozens of firefights 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan.
Eschewing proper meals, Major Beasley survived on “to-go plates” brought to him from the base dining facility by a junior Airman. A nearby bucket was used as a waste receptacle.
