


Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Air
Force, 20th Special Operations Squadron. Place
and date: Near Duc
Co, Republic of
Vietnam, 26 November
1968. Entered service at: Pullman,
Wash. Born: 12 March 1943, Sedalia,
Mo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of
duty. Capt. Fleming (then 1st
Lt.) distinguished himself as the Aircraft Commander of a UH-1F transport
Helicopter. Capt. Fleming went to the
aid of a 6-man special forces long range
reconnaissance patrol that was in danger of being overrun by a large, heavily
armed hostile force. Despite the
knowledge that 1 helicopter had been downed by intense hostile fire, Capt.
Fleming descended, and balanced his helicopter on a. river bank with the tail
boom hanging over open water. The patrol
could not penetrate to the landing site and he was forced to withdraw. Dangerously low on fuel, Capt. Fleming
repeated his original landing maneuver.
Disregarding his own safety, he remained in this exposed position. Hostile fire crashed through his windscreen
as the patrol boarded his helicopter.
Capt. Fleming made a successful takeoff through a barrage of hostile
fire and recovered safely at a forward base.
Capt. Fleming's profound concern for his fellow men, and at the risk of
his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest
traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the
Armed Forces of his country.