Captain Lindsay Gordon ’12 and Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Woodward were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions while flying an AH-64 Apache helicopter during an early December mission in Afghanistan. The cross is awarded to soldiers who distinguish themselves with "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight," according to the Department of Defense.
Throughout the night of Dec. 5, a Ranger regiment was engaged in a firefight with enemy troops near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. After about 5 a.m., the ground force commander called for an immediate extraction after they learned of a larger enemy group approaching. Located in a deep river valley, the troops were not in a good position to defend themselves. Woodward and Gordon, flying along with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, guided their aircraft directly between the U.S. troops and the enemy forces as the extraction got underway.
"Upon landing to the (extraction zone), the (Rangers) immediately received fire from all directions, including their take-off direction," said Lt. Col. Jeffery Bragg, commander of the 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment. "With rounds impacting within a few feet ahead of the lead assault helicopter, Capt. Gordon and CW2 Woodward deliberately placed their aircraft in a position to distract and draw fire from the assault helicopters while they completed the exfiltration of the rangers." The whole place "lit up," Bragg said. Enemy fire was originating from more than five to seven points in the area. Woodward and Gordon's actions helped save dozens of lives. Read More