The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain David Lewis Wiest (AFSN: FR-59433), United States Air Force, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force as a Rescue Helicopter Pilot with Detachment 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, in action on a vital and dangerous rescue mission near Lai Khe, Republic of Vietnam, on 31 March 1967. On that date, the crew was scrambled at 0300 hours in a dense overcast to locate a pilot who had bailed out of his crippled fighter. Penetrating the heavy overcast and letting down through it with no navigational aids and encountering heavy visible ground fire from hostile forces, the crew located the downed pilot in the dark and hoisted him safely aboard the helicopter. The crew twice penetrated the heavy overcast and encountered ground fire three times during their attempt to locate and rescue the downed aircrewman. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Captain Wiest has reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Air Force.