Page 26 - DFCS NEWS MAGAZINE 2018-2

Cmdr. Dean “Diz” Laird Receives 2018 Audie Murphy Award
WWII Navy Ace and DFCS Life Member
By Chuck Sweeney
On Saturday, October 27, 2018, DFCS Life Member and WWII Navy Ace Dean S. “Diz” Laird and his family were brought to the American Veterans Center (AVC) in Washington DC to receive the 2018 Audie Murphy Award. This event took place as part of AVC’s 21st Annual Conference that recognizes our military heroes.
The Audie Murphy Award is AVC’s oldest award, and honors those who have exhibited extraordinary service during and after the war.
Diz figures he has, in his own words, “just outlived the competition”!
Previous honorees have included Senator Bob Dole, the Doolittle Raiders, the 761st Tank Battalion, the Battle of Midway, several recipients of the Medal of Honor, Major League Baseball players who fought in WWII, along with other
veterans of the Second World War.
Prior to receiving the Award, Diz was on a panel with another famous WWII
aviator, Colonel Richard Cole
https://vimeo.com/299301422
Password: Valor2018.
Diz comes appears in the video after about five minutes.
Another DFCS member, Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, appears in the
video at about 20 minutes.
DFCS Life Member and WWII Ace “Diz” Laird receives the coveted 2018 Audie Murphy Award for extraordinary service during and after the Second World War.
Raiders and Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot.
, the last surviving member of the Doolittle
You can check the AVC website at:
http://www.americanveteranscenter.org/ to learn more about the
organization.
You can also view the award ceremony at
As a dedicated DFC Society member, Diz proudly wears his DFC Society ball
cap whenever he can to support the DFC Society.
WINTER 2018 / DFCS News Magazine / 27