URBAN L. DREW (then First Lieutenant), United States Air Force. For extraordinary heroism in military operations against an armed enemy of the United States as Leader of Blue Flight, 375th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter Group, 8th Air Force near Hamm, Germany, on 7 October 1944. On that date, Lieutenant Drew became the first Allied pilot to shoot down in combat two Me-262s aircraft. Through his extraordinary heroism, suberb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, and in the dedication of his service to his country, Lieutenant Drew reflected the highest credit on himself and the United States Air Force.

Mr. Drew is one of only two men to receive the Air Force Cross for actions performed during World War II. The recommendation for the Distinguished Service Cross was turned down because of insufficient confirmation. The gun camera had jammed and 2LT Robert McCandliss, the Number 2 man, had been shot down by flak and became a Prisoner of War until the end of hostilities. Thirty-nine years later, the total story was confirmed by both the German Luftwaffe archives and the American Air Force archives. The Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records recommended that Mr. Drew and his wife were flown in an Air Force C-141 from Johannesburg, South Africa for the ceremony. The honorable Verne Orr, Secretary of the Air Force, presented the medal on May 12, 1983.

Mr. Drew resides in South Africa.