AWARDED DFC: 2
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  -
MODEL:  AC-130

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant Lee U. DeRosa for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an AC-130 Gunship Electronic Warfare Officer over Southeast Asia on 3 March 1972. On that date, while on a night armed reconnaissance mission, his actions led to the damage or destruction of seven hostile supply vehicles and the ignition of 11 secondary fires and explosions. Putting aside his concern for personal safety in the face of 450 rounds of hostile anti-aircraft fire, he succeeded in destroying large amounts of supplies and munitions destined for use against friendly forces. In addition, when his aircraft was struck by two rounds of anti-aircraft fire, Lieutenant DeRosa quickly and professionally administered urgently needed first aid to a critically injured crewmember, thereby helping save his life. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant DeRosa reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force. 1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant Lee U. DeRosa for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an AC-130 Gunship Electronic Warfare Officer over Laos on 14 November 1971. On that date, while on a night-armed reconnaissance mission, Lieutenant DeRosa's courage and professional actions led directly to the safe return of a sixteen-man aircrew and six million dollar gunship after an anti-aircraft artillery explosion caused the immediate separation of the propellers and forward halves of the aircraft's numbers three and four engines over heavily defended enemy supply routes. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant DeRosa reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

2.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant Lee U. DeRosa for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an AC-130 Gunship Electronic Warfare Officer over South Vietnam on 23 April 1972. On that date, while on a night aerial fire support mission over a friendly ground position, his actions enabled the friendly ground position to successfully halt and repel the superior-sized hostile force's advancement upon their position. He displayed extraordinary airmanship in continually pressing the attack by applying an uninterrupted rain of accurate ordnance against the hostile force while coping with the constant threat imposed by accurate anti-aircraft fire. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant DeRosa reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.