The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Aviation Survival Technician First Class Michael S. Spencer, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary heroism while participating in aerial flight as the Rescue Swimmer aboard MH60J Jayhawk helicopter Coast Guard 6006 on the night of 3 December 2007. Launching from Air Station Astoria, Oregon, during a winter storm of unprecedented ferocity, the crew battled torrential rain, severe turbulence, poor visibility and hurricane force winds en route to Chehalis, Washington, where hundreds of people were endangered by cold, rapidly rising flood waters. Petty Officer Spencer selflessly exposed himself to unseen dangers as he was lowered into roiling flood waters filled with hazards such as live power lines, logs and debris. Demonstrating extraordinary courage and determination, be entered many flooded and unstable houses. With exceptional skill and physical stamina, Petty Officer Spencer set up hoists for the very young, elderly and desperate persons who were in extreme danger. He clutched and protected a three-year-old girl too small for the rescue strop as they were hoisted to the helicopter hovering overhead in close proximity to trees and energized power lines. Petty Officer Spencer’s physical strength was tested to its limits as he and a survivor slipped from the roof of a submerged truck into the swift flood waters. His quick actions and unyielding grip prevented the terrified survivor from being swept away as they were hoisted to safety. Petty Officer Spencer applied all of his skill in overcoming innumerable obstacles. Unable to gain entry into two homes, with raging river water surging just below second story windows, he astutely employed vertical surface rescue techniques to gain entrance through a window resulting in the rescue of non-ambulatory survivors. Petty Officer Spencer’s actions, skill and heroism were instrumental in the rescue of 39 people. His courage, judgment, and devotion to duty in the face of hazardous conditions are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.