AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  Vietnam
MODEL:  CH-46

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Captain William W. Brown, Jr., United States Marine Corps Reserve, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving as a Pilot with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161, Provisional Marine Aircraft Group Thirty-Nine, First Marine Aircraft Wing in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. Late on the night of 3 July 1969, Captain Brown launched from the Quang Tri Air Base as Section Leader of a flight of two CH-46 transport helicopters assigned the emergency mission of extracting a seven-man Marine reconnaissance team that was heavily engaged in combat with a numerically superior hostile force in mountainous terrain. Arriving over the designated area, he was informed that the beleaguered patrol was surrounded and pinned down on a steep, narrow ridge by intense small arms and automatic weapons fire. Reconnoitering the area, Captain Brown selected an abandoned landing zone on a ridge as the extraction site and directed the Marines to move to the landing zone under the cover of suppressive fire from supporting aircraft. Undaunted by the danger involved in maneuvering his helicopter in the darkness over hazardous mountain terrain and the extremely heavy volume of enemy fire directed against his CH-46, he skillfully maneuvered his aircraft to a landing with its main mounts touching the ground and the nose wheel suspended over the mountainside. With complete disregard for his own safety, Captain Brown fearlessly remained in his precarious position until the Marines had embarked and then departed for the Quang Tri Air Base. Captain Brown's courage, superior airmanship and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger were instrumental in saving the lives of several of his fellow Marines and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.