page_title: Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen
section_title: Vietnam and Medal of Honor Mission
hierarchical_section_title: Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen / Military career / Vietnam and Medal of Honor Mission
caption_attribution_description: President Lyndon B. Johnson presents Medal of Honor to Major Merlyn Dethlefsen, United States Air Force.
context_page_description: Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen was a United States Air Force officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.
context_section_description: On 1966, he was deployed to Southeast Asia. Dethlefsen flew F-105 Thunderchief fighters with the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron and then the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron of 335th Tactical Fighter Wing at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base at Thailand, from October 1966 to June 1967. By March 10, 1967 had risen to the rank of captain.
  On March 10, 1967, Dethlefsen refused to fly his badly damaged F-105 Thunderchief back to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. Instead, he stayed in the skies above the steel works at Thai Nguyen and completely destroyed a SAM-site before limping home. His courage in the face of a maelstrom of enemy fire earned him the third Medal of Honor given to an airman in the Vietnam War. Dethlefsen, flying the number three aircraft, and three other F-105s of Lincoln flight, flew ahead of a strike force of 72 fighter-bombers (F-105 Thunderchiefs from Korat and Takhli, and F-4 Phantoms from Ubon) heading to the Thai Nguyen iron and steel works.
  Their job was to attack the surface-to-air missile complex, antiaircraft guns and a ring of automatic weapons guarding the target. On the first pass, his flight leader (F-105F 63-8335, piloted by David Everson and Jose Luna, both POW) was shot down by 85mm AAA fire and his wing man was forced to withdraw with severe damage. Dethlefsen then took command of the flight while fending off MiG attacks and responding to his own battle-damaged aircraft. As he maneuvered, he evaded an intercepting Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 by flying into heavy enemy antiaircraft fire. His F-105 was severely damaged, but he determined the aircraft could still fly.
  Despite his nearly crippled plane, Dethlefsen made repeated strikes with his wingman, Kenneth Bell, against the enemy's defensive positions. Evading a second MiG, Dethlefsen dove through the obscuring haze to locate the missile complex when he was again hit by flak. Making a final dive bombing attack and a strafing run with 20 mm cannon fires, Dethlefsen effectively destroyed two missile sites before finally leaving for Takhli, 500 miles away. The mission was considered a success although two F-4s of the strike force were shot down.
  Dethlefsen could have pulled out of the mission on a number of occasions: when attacked by MiGs, when he and his wingman were hit by flak, or when the smoke of battle made it difficult to locate the enemy. But he decided to make repeated passes, each one more dangerous than the one before. For his actions, Dethlefsen was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B. Johnson on February 1, 1968. He became the third of 12 airmen so honored during the Vietnam War.
caption: Dethlefsen receives the Medal of Honor from President Johnson
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