The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Commander Robert A. Melvin, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on the afternoon of 5 January 1980 while serving as pilot and aircraft commander of Coast Guard HH-3F 1430 engaged in the perilous rescue of 8 crewmen from the tug A.W.GUILL which had suffered a complete loss of steering and collided with its barge during a severe winter storm 160-nautical miles northeast of Norfolk, Virginia. As the tug began to sink, the eight man crew was forced to abandon ship into a life raft. Dispatched from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Lieutenant Commander Melvin piloted the helicopter to the scene. The flight was made at altitudes less than 100 feet due to a near blizzard and icing conditions. An inoperative radar and unreliable navigational signals due to low altitude flight further complicated matters. Utilizing dead reckoning headings obtained via HF radio from Air Station Elizabeth City and DF vectors from a C-130 aircraft, Lieutenant Commander Melvin finally located the life raft. Although the life raft was being violently tossed by 15 foot seas and 45 knot winds, Lieutenant Commander Melvin maneuvered the helicopter into position for the eight arduous hoists. With the survivors safely aboard, Lieutenant Commander Melvin piloted the helicopter at 50 feet above the ocean surface and returned to landfall at Virginia Beach to find the airports below instrument approach minimums and visibility down to 1/16 of a mile. Already fatigued by the demanding flight, he cautiously maneuvered his way to a safe landing at Norfolk International Airport with less than 30 minutes fuel remaining. Lieutenant Commander Melvin’s innovative actions, expert aeronautical skill and valor throughout this rescue mission resulted in the successful rescue of 8 men. His courage, sound judgment and unwavering devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.