The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Staff Sergeant Hunter B. Childs, United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Helicopter Aerial Gunner near Ban Me Thuot, Republic of Vietnam, on 16 June 1968. On that date, as his helicopter made repeated passes through intense hostile fire, Sergeant Childs stood exposed in the open doorway to fire his minigun at the hostile forces which had surrounded a friendly ground unit. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Sergeant Childs reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.