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 to Captain Richard Dean Lee, United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an F-105 Thunderchief Pilot of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, in action near Kep, North Vietnam, on 16 June 1967. On that date, Captain Lee was a member of a four ship flight directed to strike the Kep Railroad Yards. Despite adverse weather conditions and intense antiaircraft fire, Captain Lee attacked the target and delivered his ordnance with pinpoint accuracy. A secondary explosion with a fireball five hundred feet in diameter and several rail cuts resulted from theirhis devastating attack. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Lee reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of 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 Second Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Third Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to Captain Richard Dean Lee, United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an F-105 Thunderchief Pilot of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, in action near Hanoi, North Vietnam, on 29 April 1967. On that date, Captain Lee was tasked to strike the Hanoi Railroad/Highway Bridge, five miles east of the center of Hanoi. Disregarding the numerous surface-to-air missiles and the intense flak, Captain Lee delivered his bombs on target with pinpoint accuracy making further use of this important supply route unusable without extensive repair. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain Lee reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of 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 to Captain Richard Dean Lee, United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an F-105 pilot of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, in action in Southeast Asia on 19 May 1967. On that date, Captain Lee was leading a four-ship formation of a seven flight attack force against the Kep Army Barracks area in North Vietnam. Disregarding the extremely heavy anti-aircraft fire from all around them, the flight rolled in and delivered their ordnance on the active anti-aircraft sites in the target area. All of the munitions detonated on target and silenced several active anti-aircraft sites. The remainder of the attack force encountered very light anti-aircraft fire in the target area as a result of this devastating attack. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Lee reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of 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 the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to Captain Richard Dean Lee, United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an F-105 pilot of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, in action in Southeast Asia on 11 March 1967. On that date, Captain Lee was flying in a flight of F-105’s against the heavily defended Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Works. Faced with poor visibility due to haze and a low overcast cloud cover that forced them to within easy range of the anti-aircraft batteries, Captain Lee maintained flight integrity and continued on toward the target, evading the flak and the surface-to-air missiles as they were launched, and delivered his ordnance on target. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain Lee reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Air Force.