Medical Aviator Cracks 1,000 Hours

1st Lieutenant Ernest J. Sylvester, 23, became the first medical aviator to log more than 1,000 evacuation hours in Vietnam. Awarded the DFC, Purple Heart, Air Medal with 19 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, the Gulfport, Miss. officer often disregarded his own safety to continue to aid the wounded. A former 57th and 82nd Medical Detachment pilot, he has since rotated to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.