The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Airman’s Medal to Captain Count B. Tye, Jr., United States Air Force, for heroism involving voluntary risk of life near Tirennia, Italy, on 16 May 1989. On that date, Captain Tye came upon a head-on collision between two local Italian vehicles. One vehicle was in a ditch with the driver pinned in the car and the other was five feet away engulfed in flames. With complete disregard for his own safety, Captain Tye, despite the hazard of an exploding fuel tank, grabbed a fire extinguisher from the bus he was riding on and physically climbed on top of the burning car to extinguish the flames. Had the flames not been extinguished in a timely manner, the gas tank would have exploded, resulting into the loss of Captain Tye’s life, the life of the driver pinned in the non-burning car and the lives of two other United States military members assisting in the emergency actions. The exemplary courage and heroism displayed by Captain Tye reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.