Oklahoma City, OK – It's hard enough to fly a helicopter expertly in ideal circumstances.
Herbert Fix did it while being shot at.
The 1952 Merritt High School graduate was born in Elk City and raised on an area farm. He graduated from SWOSU in 1956 with an education degree as a biology and physical education major and business minor.
He later earned a master's degree in business from Auburn University.
During his senior year of college at Weatherford, a trip to the state capital changed his life.
Fix attended the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City where he saw the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. That's when he knew he wanted to fly.
After college he joined the United States Marine Corps and became an aviator.
Fix eventually commanded a Marine Air Control squadron and two CH-53 helicopter squadrons.
He flew in Vietnam.
During his service with the Marines, Fix was awarded the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, and several Air Medal awards.
His most outstanding contribution was expertly leading his helicopter squadron through enemy fire and evacuating more than 5,000 American and Vietnamese civilians and others from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Saigon, South Vietnam, when those cities fell to Communists at the end of the Vietnam War.
Fix flew for more than 15 straight hours.
For his superb actions in the heroic evacuation, President of the United States Gerald Ford awarded Fix the 1975 Harmon International Trophy, given annually to the world's outstanding aviator.
Elk City honored Fix with a parade and gave him the key to the city. June 21, 1977, was also declared Col. Herbert Fix Day in Oklahoma.
He is seen in this January 24, 1979, photo with Vice President Walter Mondale while being honored at the White House.
Fix retired as a Colonel in 1982.
He was inducted into the SWOSU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2014.
Fix died in 2021 and was buried with full military honors at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery in Mims, Fla., near the Kennedy Space Center.
The U.S. Marine Corps motto "Semper Fidelis" is Latin for "Always Faithful."
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