06/20/2026
On this day, 58 years ago, June 19, 1968, 26-year-old Lieutenant, junior grade, Clyde Everett Lassen launched his search and rescue helicopter into the dark skies over North Vietnam.
Lassen piloted his single-engine UH-2 Seasprite helicopter over heavily fortified terrain shortly after midnight.
His mission was to recover two downed Navy F-4 Phantom aviators stranded deep behind enemy lines.
He located the survivors trapped on a steep, densely wooded hill.
Enemy forces immediately directed intense automatic weapons fire at his hovering helicopter.
Lassen initially landed in a rice paddy near the base of the hill to avoid the incoming barrage.
The thick undergrowth prevented the injured survivors from reaching this landing zone.
Lassen coordinated flare drops from accompanying aircraft to illuminate the blacked-out jungle.
He moved his helicopter into a precarious hover between two large trees directly over the survivors' position.
The flares suddenly burned out and plunged the area into total darkness.
Without visual reference, the Seasprite collided with a tree and plummeted toward the ground.
Lassen expertly righted the damaged helicopter, recovered from the sharp descent, and maneuvered clear of the tree line.
He remained in the immediate area to mount another rescue attempt despite severe aircraft damage.
While holding position, he encouraged the trapped aviators over the radio.
Another illuminated rescue approach failed due to a relentless wall of enemy ground fire and poor visibility.
His fuel gauge dropped to a critically low level.
Lassen launched a final approach in the face of continuing, heavy enemy opposition.
Flare illumination abruptly extinguished once again as he descended toward the trees.
Fully aware that he was revealing his exact position to the waiting enemy, Lassen turned on his aircraft landing lights.
He completed the landing under heavy fire.
The two stranded aviators broke from their cover and scrambled aboard the helicopter.
Lassen immediately lifted off and pushed the Seasprite toward the coast.
Hostile antiaircraft fire relentlessly tracked the helicopter as it escaped the jungle.
Lassen successfully evaded the flak while piloting a heavily crippled aircraft.
He crossed the coastline and landed safely aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jouett.
The engines shut down with fuel for only five minutes of flight remaining.
For this mission, Lassen became the first naval aviator and the first helicopter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.
Lassen survived the war and continued a long career in the United States Navy.
He eventually achieved the rank of Commander before his retirement.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen was later named in his honor.
Clyde Everett Lassen died of cancer on April 1, 1994, in Pensacola, Florida, at the age of 52.
