Downed Navy Crew to Receive Medals
The Navy is awarding crew members of its spy plane that collided with a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea the Air Medal for heroism, and the pilot, Lt. Shane Osborn, will receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Also, senior defense officials said Osborn and the flight’s senior enlisted man, Senior Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Mellos, will receive Meritorious Service Medals for exemplary conduct during the emergency landing and the 11 days afterward during which the Chinese military held the 24 crew members on Hainan Island.
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