James Robinson Risner - Legacy

Legacy

Risner is one of only four airmen with multiple awards of the Air Force Cross, a combat decoration second only to the Medal of Honor. He is also the first living recipient of this decoration.

The Risner Award, created September 24, 1976, was donated by H. Ross Perot as a tribute to Risner and all Vietnam era Prisoners of War, and is administered by the Tactical Air Command (now by Air Combat Command). The award is presented annually to the outstanding graduate of the USAF Weapons School, with the first recipient being Capt. Timothy A. Kinnan in 1977. The Risner Award is a six and one-half foot trophy consisting of a sculpture of Risner in flight suit and helmet on a marble base, weighing approximately four tons. The trophy is permanently displayed at the United States Air Force Academy, with each winner’s name inscribed. A miniature replica, also donated by Perot, is presented to each year’s recipient as a personal memento. An identical casting, measuring four feet and weighing 300 pounds, was installed in the foyer of the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base in October 1984.

A nine foot bronze statue of Risner, sculpted by Lawrence Ludtke and mounted on a five foot pedestal of black granite, was commissioned by Perot and dedicated in the Air Gardens at the Air Force Academy on November 16, 2001. In addition to replicating the Risner Award, the statue commemorates Risner and other POWs who were punished for holding religious services in their room at the Hanoi Hilton on February 7, 1971, in defiance of North Vietnamese authorities. The statue was made nine feet tall in memory of Risner's statement, commenting on his comrades singing The Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America, that "I felt like I was nine feet tall and could go bear hunting with a switch."

Perot helped Risner later become the Executive Director of the Texans' War on Drugs, and Risner was consequently appointed by President Ronald Reagan as a United States Delegate to the fortieth session of the United Nations General Assembly.