23rd
TASS Awards and Decs:
Nail FACs earned an Air Medal for ten combat
missions flown over North Vietnam and for twenty combat missions flown over
Laos. The Awards and Decs troops
submitted paperwork as soon as a FAC survived enough missions to qualify for
his first Air Medal. Afterward,
submissions were made when five additional air medals had been earned.
Occasionally, the squadron held awards ceremonies to present medals and
certificates for air medals or DFCs, when they had been earned for specific
missions. This ceremony took
place in the summer of 1967.
Front Row: Lt. James “Jay” Hayes, Captain Pat
Sweeney, Captain Bill Beverung, Major Dan Dillon, and Lt. John Little.
Back Row: Maj. Dale Sommers, Maj. Taylor Waage, Capt Jack
Labo, Captain Jimmie Butler, and Lt. Charles Upham.
