The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Olav M. Saboe, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary achievement in aerial flight from 30 August to 06 September 2005, as Aircraft Commander aboard Coast Guard HH-65B helicopters in response to Hurricane KATRINA. Operating day after day under conditions of stress and exhaustion, he saved 143 survivors from treacherous conditions during 17 sorties totaling 30 day and night flight hours. He demonstrated exceptional aeronautical skill and judgment by pushing the power-limited HH-65B to the edge of its performance envelope near unit hazards, despite continuous reports of violence and gunfire, thousands of distressed survivors needing rescue, and the constant threat of midair collision in the highly congested and uncontrolled airspace. Among the first on scene after the storm’s passage, Lieutenant Saboe fought through heavy rain squalls and 50 knot winds to perform a pinpoint vertical delivery of the swimmer to a destroyed fishing vessel laden with obstacles from a 150-foot hover, saving a critically injured woman. He expertly conducted 57 night hoists making rescues from balconies, porches, second story windows and rooftops, precisely hovering between trees and power lines with no safe fly out options available. Immediately upon hearing reports of shots fired at a hospital with hundreds of stranded patients, Lieutenant Saboe delivered a SWAT Team to eliminate the threat. He conducted 24 confined area take-offs and landings with little to no power reserve on debris strewn bridges and rooftops including landing “light” on the corner of a flooded school roof, rescuing 26 people. While searching for survivors, he flew over a school surrounded by rising floodwaters with over 400 people utilizing the school as a makeshift shelter. He skillfully delivered the rescue swimmer and hoisted 12 survivors, including several infants and severe medical conditions, and then coordinated with Air National Guard helicopters to complete the mission. Additionally, he continued hoisting and saving lives after being warned by authorities about a toxic cloud of hydrogen sulfide in the area, refusing to abandon the mission. Lieutenant Saboe’s actions, aeronautical skill, and valor were instrumental in the direct rescue of 143 victims. His courage, judgment, and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.