The  President  of  the  United  States  takes  pleasure  in  presenting  the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS to

for service as set forth in the following

                 CITATION:

                               "For heroism and extraordinary achievement  in aerial flight while serving as a Pilot with  Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364,  Marine Aircraft Group Sixteen, First  Marine Aircraft Wing  in connection with  combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam.  On the afternoon of 8 December 1970, First  Lieutenant Tennent launched as Aircraft Commander of a CH-46 transport helicopter assigned  the emergency medical evacuation of seven casualties from a Marine unit which was conducting operations in the vicinity of Hill 52 at Charlie Ridge  in  Quang  Nam  Province.  Because of  severe  weather conditions, he elected to proceed on the mission without a wingman and accom- panied only  by a single  gunship.  Arriving over  the designated area,  he  found that  the extraction site was located on a steep hillside at an altitude of 1,100 feet and was covered with tall trees and boulders.  Undaunted by the constant  threat of  hostile fire, a  sheer cliff on one side of  the pick-up site, and  the difficulty of maintaining a  hover in winds which  gusted to forty-five knots, First  Lieutenant Tennent expertly maintained a  relatively steady  hover for one  hour and fifteen minutes  while  a  jungle  penetrator  and an  extraction  litter were lowed to  the ground and seven wounded Marines were safely hoisted aboard.  After transpor- ting the casualties to a  hospital ship offshore and returning to  his base to refuel his aircraft, he received an urgent request for the  emergency medical evacuation of  four casualties from an Army of  the Republic of Vietnam unit operating in a densly-jungled mountainous area southwest of An Hoa.  Forced to maintain low altitude  below a heavy overcast  while en route to  the designated area, he  came under  intense enemy automatic weapons  fire which seriously damaged  both his helicopter and  the escorting gunship.  After assessing  the damage sustained and realizing  the urgency of extracting the casualties, First Lieutenant Tennent reso- lutely elected to continue his mission and  proceeded to the extraction site.  With exceptional skill, he  maneuvered his aircraft to a  two-wheel landing in  the con- fined  area and maintained a partial hover  while the  four wounded  Vietnamese were embarked.  Although he encountered an extremely heavy volume of hostile automatic weapons  fire while departing the area, he  boldly continued his  flight at  low level  to the  hospital  at  DaNang.  First  Lieutenant  Tennent's  courage, superior  airmanship,  and  unwavering  devotion  to  duty  in  the  face  of great personal danger were in keeping with the highest traditions of  the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service."