The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Second Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Third Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Warrant Officer Woodrow M. Nesbitt, United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight evidenced by voluntary actions above and beyond the call of duty in the Republic of Vietnam during the period 4 August 1968 to 5 August 1968. Warrant Officer Nesbitt distinguished himself while serving as the pilot of an unarmed Uh-1H medical evacuation helicopter in support of Operation Somerset Plain in the A Shau Valley, Republic of Vietnam. Warrant Officer Nesbitt voluntarily flew his unprotected aircraft into the A Shau Valley in the face of intense Viet Cong ground fire to extract wounded troops. Due to the tall trees and dense vegetation in the area, landing zones were non-existent. Disregarding his own safety, Warrant Officer Nesbitt hovered his aircraft over the exposed area in an attempt to recover the wounded personnel by sling and hoist. He repeatedly maneuvered his exposed aircraft over the extraction sites and, even though the aircraft was under fire, he remained on station until the wounded troops were aboard. After the wounded were aboard, he flew his heavily laden aircraft out of the area to the evacuation hospital Through his courage and sound judgment, he contributed immeasurably to the success of the mission. Warrant Officer Nesbitt’s personal bravery and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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Awards Received
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Distinguished Flying Cross
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Distinguished Flying Cross
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Distinguished Flying Cross
Citation Courtesy of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society – www.dfcsociety.orgThe President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Warrant Officer Woodrow M. Nesbitt, United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight in the Republic of Vietnam on 20 May 1968. Warrant Officer Nesbitt distinguished himself while serving as pilot of a medical evacuation helicopter on an urgent hoist extraction of members of the 101st Airborne Division. At 1840 hours, the medical evacuation helicopter was on its way to the extraction near Fire Support Base Bastogne, Republic of Vietnam. When the aircraft arrived at the site, Warrant Officer Nesbitt quickly maneuvered his aircraft at tree trop level over the ground unit. As the hoist was being lowered, the aircraft came under intense hostile fire. With great determination and skill, Warrant Officer Nesbitt held the aircraft steady over the ground unit until the aircraft received a disabling blow in the transmission and the hoist was returned. With several hits now taken by the weakened aircraft, Warrant Officer Nesbitt returned to Fire Support Base Veghel to save his aircraft and crew. Through his courage and sound judgment, Warrant Officer Nesbitt contributed immeasurably to the safety of the crew and the safe return of the aircraft. Warrant officer Nesbitt’s personal bravery and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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Distinguished Flying Cross
Citation Courtesy of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society – www.dfcsociety.orgThe President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Warrant Officer Woodrow M. Nesbitt, United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty in the Republic of Vietnam on 28 May 1968. Warrant Officer Nesbitt distinguished himself while serving as pilot of an aero-medical evacuation helicopter, during missions to extract wounded soldiers from two insecure sites near Hue, Republic of Vietnam. Late in the morning, he made a hoist extraction as his unarmed helicopter came under enemy automatic weapons fire. Completing this mission, he was again notified by the ground unit that additional casualties required immediate evacuation. Skillfully, he flew his helicopter into an extremely small landing zone and picked up eight of the more seriously injured. Prior to his departure an enemy rocket-propelled grenade exploded directly in front of the helicopter, spraying shrapnel into the hovering ship. Monitoring the gauges and clearing the ship, he maneuvered the heavily laden helicopter out of the landing zone through enemy automatic weapons fire, sustaining numerous hits. Through his courage and sound judgment, he contributed immeasurably to the success of the mission. Warrant Officer Nesbitt’s outstanding flying ability and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.