The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain (Infantry) Denny Roland Vaughan (ASN: 0-4074862), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Troop B, 7th Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment, 17th Combat Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade. Captain Vaughan distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 18 April 1968 in an air rescue mission west of Kontum. During a low-level aerial reconnaissance, a scout aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire and crashed in the midst of a reinforced North Vietnamese Army battalion. When it was reported that two crew members had survived the crash, Captain Vaughan immediately volunteered to lead a twenty-man force in an attempt to extract them. On the approach to the landing zone the lead aircraft began receiving intense fire from machine gun positions surrounding the pickup site, and the flight commander decided to abort the mission. Captain Vaughan, though fully aware of the enemy’s strength, persuaded the flight commander to remain at a twenty-foot hover while he and his men jumped to the ground. Ignoring an injury to his ankle, he rapidly deployed his platoon and began maneuvering it toward the downed ship. After moving a short distance, it received heavy enemy automatic weapons fire. Captain Vaughan requested and adjusted air strikes around his platoon’s position. The bombardment stopped the attackers’ fire and he continued to lead his men toward the injured crew members. The North Vietnamese launched a furious ground assault on his platoon. Captain Vaughan fearlessly exposed himself to the withering hail of fire to organize and direct his troops’ defenses. As the attack was driven back, he once again called air strikes on the enemy, enabling him and his men to return to the landing zone with the downed aircraft crew for extraction. Captain Vaughan’s extraordinary heroism 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.