Clyde Everett Lassen Clyde Everett Lassen ( 1942 – 1994 ) , a native of Fort Myers , Florida , was a retired Commander in the United States Navy and a Naval Aviator . As a Lieutenant , he received the Medal of Honor for his rescue of two downed Naval Aviator s while piloting a search and rescue helicopter in the Vietnam war . The Mission . On June 19 , 1968 , Lassen , then a 26 - year - old Lieutenant , junior grade flying a UH - 2 " Seasprite " , embarked on a mission to recover two downed naval aviators whose plane had been shot down deep in North Vietnam ese territory . Upon reaching the hilly terrain where the aviators were hiding , Lassen made several attempts to recover the aviators , but dense tree cover , enemy weapons fire and intermittent illumination frustrated his efforts . Lassen turned on the landing lights of the helicopter , despite the danger of revealing his position to the enemy . After the pilots made their way to the helicopter and with his bullet - riddled helicopter dangerously low on fuel , Lassen evaded further antiaircraft fire before landing safely at sea on board a guided missile destroyer with only five minutes of fuel left in the helicopter ' s fuel lines . The account of the rescue was logged as a successful , routine search and rescue mission . LT Lassen became the first naval aviator and fifth Navy man to be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in Vietnam . He remained in the Navy for a career and retired in 1982 with the rank of Commander , residing in Pensacola , Florida until his death in 1994 . In 2001 , a destroyer was commissioned and named after him : the . An SH - 60 " Seahawk " was painted to commemorate his actions . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Lieutenant , U . S . Navy , Helicopter Support Squadron 7 , Detachment 104 , embarked in U . S . S . Preble ( DLG - 15 ) . place and date : Republic of Vietnam , June 19 , 1968 . Entered service at : Jacksonville , Fla . Born : March 14 , 1942 , Fort Myers , Fla . Citation : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as pilot and aircraft commander of a search and rescue helicopter , attached to Helicopter Support Squadron 7 , during operations against enemy forces in North Vietnam . Launched shortly after midnight to attempt the rescue of 2 downed aviators , Lt . ( then Lt . ( J . G . ) ) Lassen skillfully piloted his aircraft over unknown and hostile terrain to a steep , tree - covered hill on which the survivors had been located . Although enemy fire was being directed at the helicopter , he initially landed in a clear area near the base of the hill , but , due to the dense undergrowth , the survivors could not reach the helicopter . With the aid of flare illumination , Lt . Lassen successfully accomplished a hover between 2 trees at the survivors ' position Illumination was abruptly lost as the last of the flares were expended , and the helicopter collided with a tree , commencing a sharp descent . Expertly righting his aircraft and maneuvering clear , Lt . Lassen remained in the area , determined to make another rescue attempt , and encouraged the downed aviators while awaiting resumption of flare illumination . After another unsuccessful , illuminated rescue attempt , and with his fuel dangerously low and his aircraft significantly damaged , he launched again and commenced another approach in the face of the continuing enemy opposition . When flare illumination was again lost , Lt . Lassen , fully aware of the dangers in clearly revealing his position to the enemy , turned on his landing lights and completed the landing . On this attempt , the survivors were able to make their way to the helicopter . En route to the coast he encountered and successfully evaded additional hostile antiaircraft fire and , with fuel for only 5 minutes of flight remaining , landed safely aboard U . S . S . Jouett ( DLG - 29 ) .