The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Aviation Maintenance Technician Third Class John J. Overholt, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as flight mechanic aboard Coast Guard helicopter 6023 on 22 January 1999. The crew was engaged in the perilous night rescue of six crewmen from the fishing vessel NOWITNA, which was disabled and taking on water in heavy seas 75 miles northwest of Cold Bay, Alaska. Dispatched from St. Paul Island, Alaska, Petty Officer Overholt completed rescue checks and engaged the crew in a thorough review of hoisting procedures during the 200 mile transit through turbulent 45-knot headwinds, 1/2 mile visibility, freezing rain and snow showers. Arriving on scene, the crew relied entirely on night vision goggles to evaluate the powerless crabbier as darkness, sea spray, and horizontal rain rendered unaided visual impossible. Wind gusts of 60 knots and 30-foot rogue waves were hammering the NOWITNA, which listed and rolled precariously. Once CG6023 was established in a hover, he expertly conned the Aircraft Commander directly over the heaving deck between the pilothouse antennas and towering foremast. Petty Officer Overholt made several dramatic attempts to deliver a trail line amidships between the wildly swaying mast and antennas, but the line repeatedly sailed aft in the wind and eventually got tangled on the ship’s gyrating rigging. After CG6023 repositioned over the vessels bow, he skillfully conned the Aircraft Commander over the deck, successfully delivered a trail line, and began hoisting survivors aboard the helicopter. As the third man was to be lifted, the NOWITNA’s bow settled violently into a wave causing the basket to leave the deck prematurely, narrowly missing the ship’s rigging which snagged the dangling trail line and caused it to part. Undaunted, Petty Officer Overholt quickly rigged the last trail line, using the aircraft chocks and cabin fire extinguisher for weight since there were no remaining weight bags, and continued hoisting. During the final hoist, the only remaining trail line became fouled on the vessel’s mast. He immediately conned the pilot in a counterclockwise semi-circle to free the only remaining trail line, delivered it to the waiting crewman, and quickly hoisted him from the deck. After nearly an hour of intense hoisting efforts, all six NOWITNA crewmen were safely on board CG6023 and en route Cold Bay. Petty Officer Overholt’s actions, and skill were instrumental in the rescue of the fishing vessel NOWITNA’s six crewmen. His courage, judgment, and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.