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

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Warrant Officer James M. McCollum for heroism while participating in aerial flight evidenced by voluntary action, above and beyond the call of duty in the Republic of Vietnam. Warrant Officer McCollum distinguished himself by valorous actions on 21 February 1969 as Commander of an ambulance helicopter northwest of Landing Zone English. Receiving a request to evacuate a wounded Viet Cong suspect, Mister McCollum volunteered to make the extraction in spite of poor visibility produced by ground fog and low-lying clouds. The friendly troops had only two flares to mark their position and both failed to ignite. Descending below the clouds to an altitude of approximately forty feet, Mister McCollum attempted a rapid, evasive departure, but the communists were zeroed in on his aircraft and riddled it with bullets, mortally wounding the medic. While Mister McCollum was executing a sharp turn, rounds cut through the windshield, wounding him in the leg and the Aircraft Commander in the face. Although he was painfully injured and blood partially obscured the instruments, Mister McCollum managed to fly his badly crippled ship beyond the range of hostile fire and return to a hospital at Qui Nhon. Warrant Officer McCollum's outstanding flying ability and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.