The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Fourth Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Fifth Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant Carl David Blevins, Jr., United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an A-1 Tactical Fighter Pilot in Southeast Asia on 1 May 1972. On that date, Lieutenant Blevins directed a flight of A-1 Skyraiders providing helicopter escort and ground fire suppression for a rescue force attempting to evacuate one hundred and twenty American and allied personnel from the highly contested and besieged city of Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Through his superior ordnance delivery and coordination, Lieutenant Blevins aided the evacuation forces in the successful rescue of the beleaguered personnel. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Blevins reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to First Lieutenant Carl David Blevins, Jr., United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an A-1 Tactical Fighter Pilot in Southeast Asia on 31 December 1971. On that date, Lieutenant Blevins flew as wingman in a flight which flew in support of a search and rescue operation attempting to recover eight American crew members downed deep in hostile territory. Despite the complications of low cloud cover and intense hostile ground fire, Lieutenant Blevins delivered his ordnance with pinpoint accuracy in close proximity to the survivors to protect them from advancing hostile forces while assisting in the execution of a plan which resulted in the successful rescue. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Blevins reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Silver Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Sixth Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to First Lieutenant Carl David Blevins, Jr., United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight in Southeast Asia as an A-1 Pilot on 27 June 1972. On that date, Lieutenant Blevins flew as wingman on a search and rescue effort to retrieve an injured American crewmember downed in a heavily defended area 75 miles southwest of Hanoi, North Vietnam. In the face of extremely adverse weather, a critical shortage of fuel and withering hostile ground fire, Lieutenant Blevins made unrelenting low altitude ordnance deliveries in his A-1 Skyraider to protect the vulnerable helicopters, effecting the safe recovery of the crewman. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Blevins reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in addition to a previously awarded Silver Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Seventh Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant Carl David Blevins, Jr., United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an A-1 Tactical Fighter Pilot in Southeast Asia on 26 May 1972. On that date, Lieutenant Blevins led a flight of two Skyraiders on a mission in support of friendly troops being attacked relentlessly by a numerically superior hostile force that was trying to clear a major highway for use in infiltrating fresh troops and supplies necessary to keep their recently launched offensive alive in the Republic of Vietnam. Displaying a superior knowledge of his weapons system, Lieutenant Blevins remained on target for an extended period of time making numerous low level passes directing the ordnance from his flight directly on the hostile positions in close proximity to the friendly troops, finally forcing the hostile troops to completely withdraw with extremely heavy losses. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Blevins reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: First Lieutenant Carl David Blevins, Jr., United States Air Force, was awarded a Second Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Third Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an A-1 Tactical Fighter Pilot in Southeast Asia from 16 November 1971 to 19 December 1971. On those dates, Lieutenant Blevins flew in an operation that was directing search and rescue efforts to recover downed crewmembers in Northern Laos.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to First Lieutenant Carl David Blevins, Jr., United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an A-1 Tactical Fighter Pilot in Southeast Asia on 2 January 1972. On that date, Lieutenant Blevins flew as a wingman on a helicopter escort mission that was attempting to extract a friendly reconnaissance team that was surrounded deep in hostile territory. In spite of intense hostile ground fire, Lieutenant Blevins made numerous passes at tree-top level delivering his ordnance directly on target thus enabling the helicopters to enter the area and affect a safe recovery of the endangered team. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Blevins reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Third Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Fourth Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to First Lieutenant Carl David Blevins, Jr., United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an A-1 Tactical Fighter Pilot in Southeast Asia on 2 March 1972. On that date, Lieutenant Blevins flew as a wingman on a search and rescue mission for the pilot of a forward air control aircraft that had been downed by hostile fire in southern Laos. In an attempt to silence the intense and accurate fire directed at the rescue forces, Lieutenant Blevins pressed his attack through the heavy barrage to tree-top level and succeeded in suppressing the hostile positions thus allowing the vulnerable helicopters to safely clear the area. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Blevins reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.