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 Captain James Edwin Mack (AFSN: FR-63965), United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Forward Air Controller in an O-1 aircraft in Southeast Asia on 31 March 1967. On that date, Captain Mack was flying close air support for a friendly force which was surrounded by and under heavy attack from a numerically superior hostile force. With unwavering calmness and courage, Captain Mack repeatedly flew his unarmed aircraft through intense hostile automatic weapons fire to accurately mark the hostile positions for the supporting strike aircraft. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Mack reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Air Force.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting a Third Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Fourth Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat “V” to Captain James Edwin Mack (AFSN: FR-63965), United States Air Force, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as a Forward Air Controller directing fighter aircraft over North Vietnam on 2 November 1967. On that date, Captain Mack directed a series of fighter attacks on a concentration of twenty-nine 37 millimeter and 57 millimeter anti-aircraft artillery guns which were protecting a strategic area of North Vietnam. With complete disregard for his own personal safety, he remained at a dangerously low altitude over the target for an aggregate of over two hours. He repeatedly dove his unarmed aircraft into the face of withering hostile fire in order to expose the firing positions and to draw the flak away from the less maneuverable, ordnance-laden fighters. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain Mack reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Air Force.

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 Captain James Edwin Mack (AFSN: FR-63965), United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an F-100 Tactical Fighter Pilot over North Vietnam on 16 October 1967. On that date, Captain Mack was called upon to act as On-Scene Commander for a search and rescue operation for two downed airmen. Operating well within range of hostile antiaircraft artillery, Captain Mack spotted the aircrew, provided fighter cover for the pilots, and coordinated the many-faceted search and rescue efforts despite an aircraft problem that had driven cockpit temperatures to over 100 degrees for a sustained period of time. Ignoring the fatigue of a near six-hour mission and the extreme temperatures, Captain Mack stayed with his task until the men had been rescued by adeptly managing his fuel to absolute minimum conditions. His calm assessment and discharge of this responsible task while operating in an extremely hostile environment speak highly for this pilot. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Mack reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Air Force.

The 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 Captain James Edwin Mack (AFSN: FR-63965), United States Air Force, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Forward Air Controller in an O-1E aircraft on 27 April 1967. On that date, Captain Mack voluntarily and knowingly subjected himself to heavy anti-aircraft ground fire while on a classified mission over hostile territory. His gallant actions prevented an impending combat operations strike in the vicinity from being subjected to the effects of this well camouflaged anti-aircraft site. Despite the intense barrage of hostile ground fire, Captain Mack stayed in the immediate target area for over an hour until all the gun positions had been devastated. His intrepid airmanship foiled a well planned and engineered operation to destroy friendly aircraft. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Mack reflect great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Air Force.