The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Army Award) to Captain Roger D. Melby (AFSN: FV-3088148), United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight, evidenced by voluntary actions above and beyond the call of duty in the Republic of Vietnam on 17 April 1967. At approximately 1400 hours the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) units made contact with an approximate force of 100 Viet Cong. In the ensuing firefight, which was visible to the Forward Air Controller, radio contact was lost with Captain Melby, the province ALO/FAC, who was covering the operation. Despite intense ground fire, Captain Melby maneuvered his unarmed 0-1E aircraft very low over the battle area to find the opposing lines of battle. As he made repeated passes over the area he was able to distinguish the Civilian Irregular Defense Group from the Viet Cong. As soon as Captain Melby had determined the extent of the friendly unit he went back to altitude, marked the Viet Cong position and put in a flight of Vietnamese Air Force Skyraiders air strike. Despite the language difficulty and the small arms fire directed at him, Captain Melby was able to direct the Vietnamese Air Force strike with devastating results to the Viet Cong, enabling the friendly unit to complete its mission successfully. In all, Captain Melby remained on station over the battle site for over three hours His professional skill, devotion to duty and great personal bravery are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the military service.