distinguished flying cross

On their second mission during Operation Desert Storm, the crew of an AC-130H gunship, call sign Ghost 02, flew a mission that none of them should have lived to tell. Flying into Iraqi airspace, the 14 men aboard destroyed a command and control center, then evaded three surface-to-air missiles through death-defying maneuvers in the lumbering, four-propeller aircraft. The crew’s actions followed their aircraft commander’s first and last rule: all 14 men come home alive.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Ivan Hager, who served as a navigator during the Vietnam War and received two Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Air Forces Veteran Horace Carswell Jr., a World War II Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient.

On Nov. 11, 1986, Lt. Mark Feldman and his comrades conducted a rescue mission on Lake St. Clair to recover two plane crash survivors. Feldman received an Air Medal, which was later upgraded to the Distinguished Flying Cross, for his quick-thinking and attempts to resuscitate one of the passengers.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Air Forces Veteran Blasé Dillman, who served as a flight engineer in the European theater during World War II.

On the National Park Service birthday, today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Donald S. Adam, who volunteers at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Heath Culbertson, who received a Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission in Afghanistan.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Michael P. Flores, who served as a pararescueman and was killed in action in Afghanistan June 9, 2010.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Navy Veteran Gordon Earl Bentley, who served as an FM-2 Wildcat pilot during WWII and received a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Today's #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran John Pighini, a Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross recipient from the Vietnam War.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Colonel Philip Adair. Philip served from 1941 to 1971, flying air combat missions during World War II.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Navy Veteran and Former President George Herbert Walker Bush. He served as a pilot during World War II.