Honoree: James B. Lackey


James B. Lackey
Dates: Died April 9, 2010
Hometown: Green Clove Springs, FL
Branch of Service: Air Force
Rank: Senior Master Sergeant
Player: Taylor Bell

Senior Master Sergeant James Lackey, 45, of Green Clove Springs, Fl was assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, FL. He died April 9, 2010, near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a crash of a CV-22 Osprey.

SMSgt Lackey graduated from Lincoln High School in 1983 and enlisted in the Air Force in 1986. He began his career as a maintenance crew chief. In 1992, he began MH-53 flight engineer training and flew on the PAVE LOW, a now retired long-range special operations and combat search and rescue helicopter. He began his training as a CV-22 flight engineer in 2006.

Nearly 14 years after his death, SMSgt. Lackey and Major Randall Voas, who also perished in the crash, were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Their superior airmanship in executing an emergency landing saved the lives of two crew and fourteen servicemembers aboard the aircraft. This was the second award for SMSgt Lackey, having already received one for actions in combat in 2002.

Lackey is survived by his wife, Cassie, and sons, Brandon, Alex and Nick.