Vincent Joseph Hickman
Captain, U.S. Air Force

Vincent Joseph Hickman served for three years in the New York Air National Guard before entering active duty in the U.S. Air Force, obtaining his commission as a Second Lieutenant through the Air Force ROTC Program at Fordham University on 13 June 1956. He entered Navigator Training at James Connally AFB, TX, and was awarded the rating of Navigator in February 1960.

On 14 January 1964, Captain Vincent Joseph Hickman was serving as Advisor-Navigator-Bombardier of a B-26B Douglas Invader Bomber in the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group, Bien Hoa Air Base, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War.

On that date, Capt Hickman voluntarily exposed his aircraft during low level flights over hidden Viet Cong machine gun installations. Despite the heavy machine gun fire that repeatedly struck the aircraft, Capt Hickman aggressively continued his efforts to locate and destroy machine gun installations with a napalm drop until the badly-damaged aircraft crashed and burned. Capt Hickman's extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, that day earned him, at the cost of his life, the U.S. Air Force's second highest award for valor, the Air Force Cross.

Both Captain Hickman and his pilot, Major Carl Mitchell, were posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross for this mission. At the time of their action and loss in Southeast Asia, there was not a formal declaration of war by Congress, so Mitchell and Hickman were listed by the Defense Department as non-combat deaths. At the time, Air Force personnel in Vietnam were there in the role of advisors and, as such, a Vietnamese observer was with them on this mission and was also lost in action. Neither Capt Hickman nor Maj Mitchell's remains have been recovered.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Air Force Cross
Purple Heart
Air Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Award with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Navigator Badge

Air Force Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pride in presenting the Air Force Cross (Posthumously) to Captain Vincent Joseph Hickman (AFSN: 0-58450), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as an Advisor-Navigator of a B-26B Douglas Invader Bomber in the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group, Bien Hoa Air Base, Vietnam, in action on 14 January 1964. On that date, Captain Hickman voluntarily exposed himself during low level flights over hidden Viet Cong machine gun installations. Despite heavy machine gun fire, which repeatedly struck the aircraft, Captain Hickman aggressively continued his efforts to locate and destroy machine gun installations until the badly damaged aircraft crashed and burned. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Captain Hickman reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

Honors

The name Vincent J Hickman is located on Panel 1E Line 40 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Memorialization

The remains of Captain Vincent Joseph Hickman have never been recovered. He is memorialized by having his name inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Honolulu County, HI.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99293930/vincent-joseph-hickman