LINN — After surviving a helicopter crash last October and freeing his trapped flight instructor from the wreckage despite his own critical injuries, Linn firefighter Zebulon H. Hoffman received Missouri’s Medal of Valor on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Gov. Mike Kehoe presented Hoffman with the award during a ceremony at Missouri State Highway Patrol headquarters in Jefferson City. The Medal of Valor is Missouri’s highest award recognizing public safety officers who exhibit exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind, and unusual swiftness of action, regardless of personal safety, while attempting to save or protect human life.

Hoffman was surrounded by a large contingent from home as he received the honor. According to his mother, Veronica Hoffman, at least 47 family members and friends attended the ceremony in support of him.

Hoffman, a Linn Fire Protection District firefighter and the Missouri Department of Conservation’s primary fixed-wing pilot, was training to operate MDC’s helicopter when the crash occurred Oct. 21 at the Springfield Downtown Airport.

According to the nomination submitted by the Linn Fire Protection District, Hoffman had been training for several months to upgrade his private rotor-wing certification to a commercial license. He and flight instructor Chris Kiss were conducting training maneuvers in a Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter and had successfully completed several maneuvers before landing to refuel.

Training resumed at 11:08 a.m., but the helicopter suddenly lost RPMs. As the pilots attempted to maintain control, the aircraft drifted south, crossed the runway and perimeter fence, and headed toward an open area of a sports complex. The helicopter missed a group of trees before striking the ground on its skids with its nose up and flipping onto its left side.

Both men were seriously injured. Kiss, still strapped into the helicopter, was partially ejected and pinned beneath the wreckage. The helicopter had just been refueled, making fire an immediate concern.

Hoffman suffered a crushed and deeply lacerated jaw, profuse bleeding, bilateral dissected carotid arteries, fractured vertebrae, and other injuries. Still strapped into the upper seat of the overturned cockpit, Hoffman held his injured jaw with one hand while freeing himself from his restraints. He then exited the wreckage through the shattered windshield.

Initially disoriented, Hoffman heard Kiss calling for help and went to the other side of the helicopter, where he found his instructor trapped and in pain. Despite his own injuries, Hoffman attempted to lift the helicopter off Kiss. On his third attempt, he raised the cockpit enough for Kiss to pull his pinned left arm free.

Emergency responders arrived after 35 minutes, with access to the crash site hindered by tall fencing surrounding the area. Hoffman was transported as a Level 1 trauma patient to Mercy Trauma Center, where he underwent emergency surgery, followed by days in intensive care and a nine-hour reconstructive surgery. Both Hoffman and Kiss were hospitalized for nearly three weeks.

Linn Fire Protection District’s nomination credited Hoffman’s actions with rescuing his fellow crewman from a dangerous situation despite his own serious injuries, saying his actions demonstrated “commitment, exemplifies his courage, and the distinctive spirit of a firefighter.”

In announcing this year’s Public Safety Medal recipients, Gov. Kehoe praised the first responders and civilians recognized for heroic actions during 2025. “There is no greater honor than standing alongside the heroes who put their own lives at risk to protect their fellow Missourians,” he said. “Today, we recognized first responders who ran toward violence, confronted life-threatening dangers, and carried out extraordinary rescues – as well as two courageous civilians who stepped up when others needed them most. Tragically, three of the heroes we honored made the ultimate sacrifice in service to others. While their stories are different, each reflects the courage, selflessness, and instinct to serve that represent the very best of Missouri.”

Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Mark James said the recipients demonstrated “a resilience, sense of duty and deep compassion for others” characteristic of those drawn to public service and showed “how fortunate Missourians are to be served by our first responder community.”

The state specifically described Hoffman’s disregard for his own critical injuries while working to free his trapped colleague as “a courageous act of resilience and perseverance.”

The recognition comes nearly 11 months after the crash prompted an outpouring of support for Hoffman and his family throughout Osage County. Hoffman is the son of Osage County 911 Director Ron Hoffman and husband of Osage County Health Department nurse Kandiss Hoffman.

In the days following the crash, county officials expressed amazement that both men survived. During the Oct. 23, 2025, Osage County Commission meeting, Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin told commissioners that Hoffman had managed to help his instructor despite his injuries. “They crashed, and they’re okay — serious, but they’re stable,” Griffin said at the time, calling their survival a miracle. “He got out and then lifted that helicopter off that instructor … saved him with a broken jaw and his back broke.”

Griffin called Less than a year later, the actions local officials were describing in the immediate aftermath of the crash earned Hoffman Missouri’s Medal of Valor.