Lt. John Hess receives the Distinguished Flying Cross during a ceremony at Base Kodiak’s Billiken Theater, Feb. 5, 2016.
Hess received the medal for his heroic actions during a rescue of a father and son during a severe winter storm off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass.
U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 1st Class Kelly Parker.
Capt. Mark Morin, commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, awards Lt. John Hess, an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter pilot, with the Distinguished Flying Cross medal on Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, Feb. 5, 2016.
Hess earned the medal by saving the lives of a man and his son in a search and rescue mission that sent them through gale force winds, icing conditions and low visibility.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Steenson.
Capt. Mark Morin, commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, awards Lt. John Hess, an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter pilot, with the Distinguished Flying Cross medal on Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, Feb. 5, 2016.
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military-wide honor to recognize heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Steenson.
Lt. John Hess, a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter pilot, speaks with Capt. Mark Morin, commanding officer of Air Station Kodiak, about the mission he completed leading to him receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross medal, Feb. 5, 2016.
Hess and his crew battled gale force winds, icing conditions and quarter-mile visibility to save the lives of a father and son stranded on their foundering vessel in 30-foot seas.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Steenson.
Lt. John Hess, a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter pilot, displays his Distinguished Flying Cross medal at his award ceremony on Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, Feb. 5, 2016.
The Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, was created by Congress 80 years ago and is America’s oldest military aviation award.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Steenson.
To view the initial news release of the rescue, visit: http://goo.gl/R8KaLz
To read more about the rescue, visit the Coast Guard Compass post, Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty: CGNR 6033 crew, Air Station Cape Cod at: http://goo.gl/6rQQdh
For information about the Distinguished Flying Cross, visit: http://www.dfcsociety.net