Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Distinguished Flying Cross

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    First Lieutenant

    Batallion:

    14th Aviation Battalion

    Action Date:

    May 14, 1965

    All Hands (March 1967)

    The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Navy Award) to First Lieutenant Jack L. Turecek, United States Army, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as Pilot of a UH-1B helicopter while serving with I Corps Aviation Company (Provisional), 14th Aviation Battalion, in the Republic of Vietnam on 14 May 1965. In response to a request for assistance from a Marine reconnaissance patrol which was under heavy fire and surrounded by a numerically superior Viet Cong force, First Lieutenant Turecek flew to the area and, though hindered by enemy fire and reduced visibility, picked up the remaining six members of the Marine patrol. Unable to obtain enough lift to hover his aircraft, he edged the plane over the side of a hill, thus gaining the air speed necessary to fly from the area.