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 THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGTON

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the AIR MEDAL (Bronze Star in lieu of First Award) to

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JOHN S. MC CAIN III UNITED STATES NAVY

for service as set forth in the following


 * CITATION:


 * For meritorious achievement in aerial flight on 25 October 1967 as a pilot in Attack Squadron ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE, embarked in USS ORISKANY (CYA-34), Lieutenant Commander McCain participated in a mission against the enemy’s largest and best defended airfield, Phue Yen, located eleven miles north of Hanoi, North Vietnam. Encountering intense antiaircraft fire while en route to the target, and a barrage of eight to ten surface-to-air missiles at the initial attack position, he evaded the lethal air defenses and carried out a precise attack against his assigned aim point. His accurate ordnance delivery left one aircraft burning and two others severely damaged. Lieutenant Commander McCain's courage and aggressive airmanship in the face of massed enemy air defenses were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.