A National Guardsman from Willard has won the Silver Star for helping make an emergency landing of a cargo plane after an Iraqi machine gunner had wounded both pilots and a passenger.

Sergeant Alex Johnston, normally a flight engineer, helped pull the pilot out of his seat after the pilot suffered leg wounds and another crew member was knocked unconscious by a bullet that bounced off his helmet.

Johnston sat in the pilot’s seat and helped the co-pilot, who also was wounded, get the plan to a safe landing despite a cut fuel line and a punctured landing gear tire.