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 Chief Warrant Officer (CW-2) Eldon E. Nygaard (ASN: W-3156309), United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty on 3 March 1968 while serving as a helicopter pilot assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, during an aerial reconnaissance mission near the village of Duc Hoa, Vietnam. While executing a low level pass over a suspected enemy position, Warrant Officer Nygaard’s aircraft came under intense automatic weapons fire from several well-concealed Viet Cong soldiers. After a skillful maneuver to a higher altitude, Warrant Officer Nygaard put his aircraft into a steep dive and made several passes over the enemy while his observer placed devastating fire upon them. Warrant Officer Nygaard’s outstanding flying ability and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

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 Chief Warrant Officer (CW-2) Eldon E. Nygaard (ASN: W-3156309), United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight as evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty on 26 August 1968 while serving as a helicopter pilot assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the Republic of Vietnam. On this date while on a reconnaissance mission, Warrant Officer Nygaard observed that the squadron commander and his helicopter crew had become pinned down by heavy enemy weapons fire from a platoon of enemy soldiers. Disregarding his own personal safety, he skillfully directed his aircraft over the enemy positions, enabling his observer to engage the enemy with his personal weapon. Making another daring pass, Warrant Officer Nygaard engaged the enemy with his M-79 grenade launcher and forced the enemy to shift its fire to engage his helicopter. He continued these dangerous low level engagements until the commander and his men could maneuver from their highly vulnerable position to relative safety. While on a subsequent pass, Warrant Officer Nygaard alertly spotted a wounded enemy soldier and realizing the value of a prisoner, landed the helicopter and captured the soldier. After releasing the prisoner to proper intelligence authorities, he returned to the battle area where he once again found the squadron commander pinned down by enemy fire. Completely disregarding his personal safety, Warrant Officer Nygaard landed amidst the intense hail of enemy fire in order to extract the squadron commander. Even though his ship received several direct hits, he refused to ground the crippled aircraft, enabling the squadron commander to coordinate the movement of relief forces into the battlefield, resulting in completion of the operation. Chief Warrant Officer Nygaard’s display of extreme personal courage, outstanding devotion to duty and professional skill were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.