The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pride in presenting the Air Force Cross (Posthumously) to Captain Vincent Joseph Hickman (AFSN: 0-58450), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as an Advisor-Navigator of a B-26B Douglas Invader Bomber in the 1st Air Commando Squadron, 34th Tactical Group, Bien Hoa Air Base, Vietnam, in action on 14 January 1964. On that date, Captain Hickman voluntarily exposed himself during low level flights over hidden Viet Cong machine gun installations. Despite heavy machine gun fire, which repeatedly struck the aircraft, Captain Hickman aggressively continued his efforts to locate and destroy machine gun installations until the badly damaged aircraft crashed and burned. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Captain Hickman reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.