AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  Vietnam
MODEL:  F-4

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Commander David J. Rollins for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 21 January 1967 as a Naval Flight Officer of a jet aircraft in Fighter Squadron One Hundred Fourteen, embarked in USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). Assigned as an integral member of the F-4 fighter-bomber combat crew in the aircraft piloted by the element leader during a coordinated air-wing strike against the Ninh Binh transshipment complex in North Vietnam, Lieutenant Commander (then Lieutenant) Rollins materially assisted his Pilot in leading six F-4 strike aircraft in a precision attack against the heavily-defended target. He aided the element leader in planning the attack and provided guidance on navigation over unfamiliar terrain, on avoidance of heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire and on target identification. As a result of Lieutenant Commander Rollins' professionalism and vigilance in the face of great danger, the element leader was able to maneuver the element to avoid intense flak and arrive at the precise position to conduct a highly successful, closely timed, coordinated attack in which none of the aircraft in the element received damage. During this attack, Lieutenant Commander Rollins resolutely provided dive-angle, airspeed, and release-altitude information which permitted his Pilot to concentrate on target tracking, thereby contributing to the direct hits which rendered the vital transshipment target area unserviceable. His inspiring devotion to duty and his courageous actions in the face of intense enemy opposition were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.