The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Airman’s Medal to Airman First Class John A. Loomis, United States Air Force, for heroism involving voluntary risk of life at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on 5 April 1986. While off-duty, Airman Loomis responded, without hesitation, to assist victims of a 40,000 barrel fuel tank explosion. Ignoring the intense heat from the raging fire and uncertainty that nearby fuel tanks could possibly explode, he medically triaged and treated five victims, then directed the life saving medical actions of five Marine medics who had also responded; all prior to base hospital personnel arriving on the scene. Following their initial treatment, he assisted with the transfer and loading of the victims onto one of his unit’s helicopters then flew to the hospital in Seoul, Korea, providing vital emergency medical care throughout the entire medical evacuation flight. By his courageous action and humanitarian regard for his fellowman, Airman Loomis has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in Lieu of a Second Award of the Airman’s Medal to Sergeant John A. Loomis, United States Air Force, for heroism involving voluntary risk of life at Baguio City, Republic of the Philippines, from 16 July 1990 to 31 July 1990. During this time, he deployed to an area in northern Luzon, Republic of the Philippines, that had been totally debilitated by a devastating earthquake. With complete disregard for his own life, he repeatedly and unhesitatingly crawled into structurally unsound buildings, where a subsequent tremor could have caused the building to crush down upon him, in order to save the lives of several Filipinos trapped inside. Within hours after the initial earthquake struck, Sergeant Loomis arrived in a blacked-out city where he found himself surrounded by catastrophic destruction and death. Undeterred, he shifted through the wreckage of major buildings in the Baguio area, searching for survivors and risking his own life to find victims alive beneath the rubble. By his courageous action and humanitarian regard for his fellowman, Sergeant Loomis has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.