ST PAUL, Minn. — A woman in the Minnesota National Guard won the nation's highest flying award for her work saving those caught in the chaos during a deadly airport bombing in Kabul.
Maj. Katie Lunning with the Minnesota National Guard's 133rd Airlift Wing was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross Saturday.
There have only been 12 women in the military to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross. Amelia Earhart was the first, and now Major Katie Lunning joins that list.
She is the second nurse to earn it and the first in the National Guard. She was there during the aftermath of the Kabul Airport suicide attack in 2021 that killed 170 civilians and 13 U.S. service members.
Lunning came to the aid of the injured and helped evacuate 22 patients on August 26, 2021, the day of the attack.
“It's just humbling and overwhelming,” said Lunning. “I'm very proud to be able to represent Minnesota. I think it's so great that Minnesota is being recognized because it's a wonderful wing.”
Lunning, who has a nine-year-old daughter, lives in Iowa and works as an ICU nurse for Veterans Affairs.
“There's a family that I always think about, that we were able to help and transport,” said Lunning. “And I think about that family a lot. They had a little girl. They had one daughter. I have one daughter. You can definitely put yourself in their shoes.”
Lunning was in Afghanistan for about three weeks and had to travel through Taliban-controlled streets during her deployment.
“When the fates of history turned, Katie found herself engaged in life-saving missions in hostile and dangerous environments,” said Lt. Gen.Michael Lowe, the Director of the Air National Guard.
Lowe described how Lunning was armed with a pistol as she traveled through dangerous areas with her team.
“The guard is driven by airmen who serve both their nation and their community,” said Lowe. “And that is exactly what Katie does.”
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