The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant David M. Johnston, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary achievement in aerial flight from 29 August 2005 to 6 September 2005, in response to Hurricane Katrina rescue operations. Performing remarkably while flying under great stress and fatigue for six straight days during the greatest air rescue operation in Coast Guard history, he served as Aircraft Commander on HH-65B helicopters during 22 sorties, totaling over 39 day and night flight hours, in complex and congested airspace. Demonstrating exceptional aeronautical skill and judgment immediately after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, he responded to a desperate mayday, locating two adults and a premature infant in a boat lodged under trees in floodwaters where he adeptly maneuvered into a high hover, in 65 knot wind gusts and turbulence. When severe down drafts forced the aircraft toward obstacles and wind gusts entangled the hoist cable, he directed his crew in freeing the cable successfully saving the three survivors. Working northward, Lieutenant Johnston and his crew rescued 43 individuals from rising waters, and established the first survivor collection point to expedite rescue operations where he judiciously deployed his rescue swimmer to act as an on-scene commander. Lieutenant Johnston skillfully performed multiple intricate hoist operations from severely damaged and flooded buildings amongst strewn debris, telephone poles, and trees, rescuing ten survivors trapped in their attics. One complicated 45-minute extraction of a woman required two rescue swimmers and expert aircraft handling as he pushed his aircraft to the limits of its capabilities to safely extract and hoist the survivor to safety. Later, he located a flooded East New Orleans clinic, established an impromptu rooftop helipad, and coordinated Department of Defense assistance to transport 30 critical patients and 15 neo-natal patients to more suitable facilities. Lieutenant Johnston’s actions, aeronautical skill, and valor were instrumental in the rescue of 153 victims. His courage, judgment, and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.