Ignoring his wounds, Jensen crawled to the rear of his truck and continued to fight it out with the enemy. As the insurgent Viet Cong pursue their aggression in Vietnam they always keep an eye on the sky. It is there they know they have a formidable enemy - Air Power. It is their dreaded curse and one they cannot escape.

Another tactic of the VC against the threat from the sky is to try to destroy aircraft standing by for missions. This, they hope, will reduce air power's effectiveness.

Security of the bases where United States and Vietnamese aircraft operate has top priority. Helping to thwart this problem of Viet Cong infiltration are some of the top security and law enforcement men of the US Air Force. SSgt Terance Jensen of Detroit Lakes, Michigan, was one of these guardians assigned to Đà Nàng Air Base in the northern portion of South Vietnam.

Shortly after Đà Nàng was activated, and during the early morning hours, while Jensen was manning the rounds of the flight line checking a group of F-102 DELTA DAGGERS, an explosion suddenly rocked the area. Fifty yards away a C-130 cargo transport had blown up. In the light of the explosion, Jensen spotted a band of 15 heavily armed enemy infiltrators.

Immediately he ordered the nearby sentry to return to his bunker and to call for the security alert team. Jumping from his vehicle, he opened fire on the attackers. They returned his fire, wounding him severely.

Ignoring his wounds, Jensen crawled up and into the rear of his truck and continued to fight it out with the enemy forces. He knew that only he and the sentry stood between the Viet Cong band and another bunker where 25 flight line personnel had taken cover after the explosion.

Jensen, in deep pain, kept firing. Another bullet hit him--this one fatal. His .38 caliber pistol fell silent, but not before the enemy broke off contact and withdrew.

SSgt Terance Jensen had died in defense of this key Southeast Asian Air Base. For his heroic actions and disregard for his own personal safety, Sergeant Jensen was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for Valor.

AIRMAN MAGAZINE May 1966