Distinguished Flying Cross for pilot

Lieutenant John “JJ” Briggs, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot attached to the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala., was awarded one of the country’s highest military honors during Dec, 20. Lt. Briggs received the Distinguished Flying Cross for acts of heroism after Category 4 Hurricane Harvey battered the Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast regions in August 2017. Hurricane Harvey caused $125B in and is the wettest U.S. hurricane on record, dropping more than 60 inches of rain in Texas. The subsequent flooding destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, displaced 30,000 people and forced more than 17,000 rescues. Among the rescue of 120 people between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, Lt. Briggs airlifted a critically ill pregnant woman who had become trapped by rising waters in her Houston attic, according to the CG citation. But rather than one woman, it was discovered numerous other family members were in need of rescue. Fourteen people were rescued – 10 were babies. The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight, in a manner that is distinctive and not routine, according to the CG; and only an act of Congress can authorize it. (Source: AL.com 12/23/19) https://www.al.com/news/2019/12/heroic-mobile-pilot-who-saved-lives-during-hurricane-harvey-awarded-top-military-medal.html