Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

2nd Lieutenant

Unit:

340th Bombardment Group, U.S. Army Air Forces

Awarded on:

March 22nd, 1944

Citation:
"For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as co-pilot of a B-25 aircraft. On 28 December 1943, while on a mission enroute to Aquino, Italy, Lieutenant MacDermaid's pilot was killed and his plane shot out of formation by intense and anti-aircraft fire. Displaying utmost self-possession, Lieutenant MacDermaid feathered the propeller of the disabled right engine and although hamered by the inert body of the pilot which had slumped over the controls, he skillfully maneuvered through a concentrated barrage and succeeded in landing at Pomigliano Airport, without injury to the remainder of the crew. His courage and recourcefulness in the face of great hazard have reflected highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States."

General Orders No.32, Headquarters 12th Air Force (22 March 1944).