The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Captain Gerald Calvin Seybold (MCSN: 0-106332), United States Marine Corps, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving with the Aerial Observer Unit, Headquarters, FIRST Marine Division in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. Early on the morning of 20 October 1970, Captain Seybold launched as an Aerial Observer aboard an OV-10 Bronco aircraft assigned the mission of directing the close air support for two Civilian Irregular Defense Group companies which were heavily engaged in combat with elements of two North Vietnamese Army battalions in the vicinity of Thuong Duc in Quang Nam Province. Arriving over the designated area, he established radio contact with the beleaguered Vietnamese and was informed that their units were on a plateau with their backs to a two thousand, three hundred foot drop to the valley below and that they were under intense rocket, mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms fire from enemy positions on all three sides which cut off all avenues of escape. Despite heavy rains, a low cloud cover which obscured mountains in the area, and the difficulty of maneuvering the aircraft in the darkness over the rugged terrain, Captain Seybold, undaunted by the heavy volume of hostile fire directed at his Bronco, alertly observed and reported the sources of enemy fire and provided precise clearance information which enabled his pilot to deliver accurate illumination flares, cannon and machine gun fire, and marking rockets upon the hostile positions. At one point, he sighted thirty North Vietnamese Army soldiers and a recoilless rifle position and directed his pilot in an aggressive attack which inflicted heavy losses upon the enemy. When two flights of A-4 Skyhawk aircraft arrived on station, Captain Seybold briefed the air crews on the tactical situation and the restricted perimeters of safety due to the proximity of the friendly positions to the hostile force, enemy antiaircraft fire, marginal weather, and the difficulty they would encounter in maneuvering in the darkness over the mountainous area. With exceptional skill, he coordinated the delivery of flares to illuminate the hostile rocket and mortar emplacements, as well as the terrain surrounding the friendly positions, and then, with complete disregard for his own safety, directed his pilot on low-altitude marking runs and aided his pilot in controlling such devastating air strikes that the enemy fire was silenced. Captain Seybold’s courage, superior professionalism, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger were instrumental in accomplishing the hazardous mission and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.