Outstanding Aircrew Member's Award (LT Robert A. Perchard Memorial Trophy).
This award was established in 1963 by the parents and friends of the late Lieutenant Perchard, who died in company with his fellow crewmembers while serving as co-pilot aboard an HU-16E on a rescue mission in Alaska.
[1][2] Five coast guardsmen were killed when their Grumman HU-16E Albatross, CG Number 7233, crashed on a mountainside near Ketchikan while searching for a grounded fishing vessel.
The plane was searching for the fishing vessel Jean, which had grounded on Nunez Rocks and sank.
Crash related deaths: LCDR Joseph N. Andrassy (CG Aviator #852), LT Robert A. Perchard (CG Aviator #896), AO1 Harry W. Olson, AM2 Don G. Malena, AT3 Edward A. Krajniak[3]