Colonel (then Captain) LeLAND T. KENNEDY received the Air Force Cross (First Oak Leaf Cluster) for his extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force as an HH-3E Helicopter Pilot in Southeast Asia on 20 October 1966. On that date, Captain Kennedy successfully recovered six downed American airmen. Despite the intense, accurately directed, hostile fire which damaged his own unarmed rescue helicopter, Captain Kennedy, with indomitable courage and professional skill, chose to land next to a disabled companion helicopter and retrieve the crew, plus a previoulsy rescued wounded F-4C pilot. With undaunted determination, Captain Kennedy, then amid hostile fire, sought and successfully recovered the second downed F-4C pilot. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the opposing force, Captain Kennedy reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

Colonel Kennedy was the first man to receive a second award of the Air Force Cross. Although Deceased, another Legion of Valor member sponsored his membership in the Legion of Valor.

View Colonel Kennedy’s Air Force Cross citation.