AWARDED DFC: 2
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  Vietnam
MODEL:  HU-16B

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (First Oak Leaf Cluster) to First Lieutenant Lawrence A. Britt for heroism while participating in aerial flight as a Rescue Crew Navigator of an HU-16B amphibious aircraft over Southeast Asia on 24 September 1965. On that date, Lieutenant Britt assisted in the rescue of two downed pilots in waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Immediately after receiving an emergency distress call notifying them of two ejections in hostile waters, the crew proceeded to the area and visually sighted the signal devices of the two pilots. Disregarding their own personal safety, the crew, in the face of intense hostile artillery fire falling within yards of their aircraft and a sea state producing four to five foot waves, proceeded with their mission and successfully rescued the two pilots. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Britt reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.