CAPISTRANO BEACH : Medal Winners’ Group Takes Off

For years, retired Air Force Capt. Alexander D. Ciurczak of Capistrano Beach had toyed with the idea of starting a group to honor war veterans who, like himself, had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

“I once called a retired officers magazine, and they told me there wasn’t any organization honoring the Flying Cross,” Ciurczak said. “And then they said, ‘Why don’t you start one?’ ”

So last year, on the 50th Anniversary of the D-day invasion of Normandy, Ciurczak, at his own expense, incorporated the Distinguished Flying Cross Society as a private, nonprofit group.

In eight months, membership has soared to 500, and Ciurczak said he expects that number to double by June.

“There is no number of how many Air Force members have received the award,” said Lt. Col. Michael Gannon, an Air Force spokesman at the Pentagon.

The medal was first given to Charles A. Lindbergh, then a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve, for his historic solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927.

Since then, the award has gone to more than 40,000 recipients, Ciurczak believes.

The award was established by Congress in 1926 and can be given for heroism or extraordinary achievement during flight.

Aviators from all branches of the U.S. military are eligible. It also can be given to foreign military allies.

Ciurczak won the award twice.

The first was for flying 12 months in combat with the 11th Air Force B-24 bomber group while stationed in the Aleutian Islands.

Due to heavy casualties, the Distinguished Flying Cross was given to military personnel after six months of flight duty in Europe, and after 12 months in the Aleutians.

Ciurczak’s second award was earned during a bombing mission under heavy attack by Japanese anti-aircraft guns and fighter planes on Sept. 11, 1943.

“It is time we had a group where the recipients can recount their stories and share aviation news,” he said.