| Larry Hatch's DFC |
DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS
By the direction of the President under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved 2 July 1926,
the Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to:
Warrant Officer Larry G. Hatch, W3154603, United States Army, for heroism while participating in
aerial flight. Mr. Hatch distinguished himself by heroism against a company sized element of the 8th
Battalion, 18th Regiment, of North Vietnamese Army, on 25 May 67, in the Republic of Vietnam. Mr.
Hatch was the aircraft commander of a medical evacuation helicopter on a medical evacuation
mission in support of a combat search and destroy mission. Mr. Hatch received a request for
evacuation of a seriously wounded soldier whose ground element was pinned down on
mountainous jungle terrain. Mr. Hatch flew his aircraft to the location of the pick-up zone and
married up with the gunships for fire support. Because of the difficult terrain, Mr. Hatch decided to
use the internal hoist to evacuate the wounded soldier. It became obvious that a positive location of
the ground element through the dense jungle would be extremely difficult, Mr. Hatch fully aware of
the concentration of enemy troops in the area, flew his aircraft to tree top level in an attempt to
locate the ground element. Flying over the mountainous jungle terrain, Mr. Hatch searched for
several minutes. Since location by this method seemed unlikely, Mr. Hatch flew his aircraft to the
top of the mountain and began slowly hovering backwards down the side, with the radio contact on
the ground giving directions based on the sound of the helicopter. After several tension filled
minutes with darkness of night closing in, Mr. Hatch maneuvered his aircraft over the position.
Hovering over the jungle on the mountainside, Mr. Hatch instructed his crew to lower a collapsible
litter down through 100-150 ft. trees. After the litter was on the ground and the hoist cable was
extracted, enemy automatic weapons fire was sustained by the aircraft. While under fire, Mr. Hatch
maneuvered his aircraft away from the location and out of reach of the enemy fire. The initial
attempt was unsuccessful and Mr. Hatch returned to LZ uplift and remained on a standby status. At
2300 hours, Mr. Hatch returned in another attempt to extract the wounded soldier. Again as Mr.
Hatch maneuvered his aircraft into position, he was met with heavy automatic weapons fire from two
locations and incoming mortar fire in the vicinity of the pick-up zone. Mr. Hatch, deciding that a
successful pick-up was impossible and that the loss of his aircraft was likely, again returned to LZ
uplift to await the results of supporting fires.
At 0300 hours, 26 May 67, Mr. Hatch returned for a third and successful attempt. Mr. Hatch
hovered his aircraft over the trees until the wounded soldier was extracted from the jungle. The
wounded solider was flown to LZ uplift and received the necessary medical aid. Mr. Hatch’s great
personal courage, devotion to his mission, his superb flying skill and timely decisions were in
keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and
the United States Army.
By the direction of the President under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved 2 July 1926,
the Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to:
Warrant Officer Larry G. Hatch, W3154603, United States Army, for heroism while participating in
aerial flight. Mr. Hatch distinguished himself by heroism against a company sized element of the 8th
Battalion, 18th Regiment, of North Vietnamese Army, on 25 May 67, in the Republic of Vietnam. Mr.
Hatch was the aircraft commander of a medical evacuation helicopter on a medical evacuation
mission in support of a combat search and destroy mission. Mr. Hatch received a request for
evacuation of a seriously wounded soldier whose ground element was pinned down on
mountainous jungle terrain. Mr. Hatch flew his aircraft to the location of the pick-up zone and
married up with the gunships for fire support. Because of the difficult terrain, Mr. Hatch decided to
use the internal hoist to evacuate the wounded soldier. It became obvious that a positive location of
the ground element through the dense jungle would be extremely difficult, Mr. Hatch fully aware of
the concentration of enemy troops in the area, flew his aircraft to tree top level in an attempt to
locate the ground element. Flying over the mountainous jungle terrain, Mr. Hatch searched for
several minutes. Since location by this method seemed unlikely, Mr. Hatch flew his aircraft to the
top of the mountain and began slowly hovering backwards down the side, with the radio contact on
the ground giving directions based on the sound of the helicopter. After several tension filled
minutes with darkness of night closing in, Mr. Hatch maneuvered his aircraft over the position.
Hovering over the jungle on the mountainside, Mr. Hatch instructed his crew to lower a collapsible
litter down through 100-150 ft. trees. After the litter was on the ground and the hoist cable was
extracted, enemy automatic weapons fire was sustained by the aircraft. While under fire, Mr. Hatch
maneuvered his aircraft away from the location and out of reach of the enemy fire. The initial
attempt was unsuccessful and Mr. Hatch returned to LZ uplift and remained on a standby status. At
2300 hours, Mr. Hatch returned in another attempt to extract the wounded soldier. Again as Mr.
Hatch maneuvered his aircraft into position, he was met with heavy automatic weapons fire from two
locations and incoming mortar fire in the vicinity of the pick-up zone. Mr. Hatch, deciding that a
successful pick-up was impossible and that the loss of his aircraft was likely, again returned to LZ
uplift to await the results of supporting fires.
At 0300 hours, 26 May 67, Mr. Hatch returned for a third and successful attempt. Mr. Hatch
hovered his aircraft over the trees until the wounded soldier was extracted from the jungle. The
wounded solider was flown to LZ uplift and received the necessary medical aid. Mr. Hatch’s great
personal courage, devotion to his mission, his superb flying skill and timely decisions were in
keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and
the United States Army.
