AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  Vietnam
MODEL:  C-130E

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Colonel Jerry R. Ford for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a C-130E Aircraft Commander near Nakhom Phanom Air Base, Thailand on 5 March 1967. On that date, he was flying an aerial control mission against unfriendly ground forces, when he was alerted that an unidentified hostile aircraft would intercept his aircraft shortly. Immediately a preplanned escape maneuver was executed which placed Colonel Ford’s unarmed airplane in a safe area at a very low altitude. Mission requirements dictated maximum time on station, and despite the low altitude and adverse flight conditions, Colonel Ford displayed excellent crew coordination and with his crew managed to complete the mission successfully. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Ford reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.