Statement by the President Upon Awarding the Distinguished Service Medal to Maj. Gen. James W. Humphreys, Jr., USAF
GENERAL HUMPHREYS, a career officer in the Air Force Medical Corps, has just returned from 2 years in Vietnam. He was there, as part of our AID program, to help develop a national medical program for the Vietnamese people.
In the midst of war, he was deeply committed to advancing the works of peace. And he succeeded outstandingly.
When he arrived, there were 80 Americans working on health programs for the benefit of that sorely beset people. Today there are some 900--eleven times as many. And they have been joined by some 500 medical personnel from other free nations.
They are now at work in 40 provincial hospitals, district, village, and hamlet health stations throughout South Vietnam.
Their work has revolutionized the care of the sick. They have brought hope where once there was only despair. They have helped us, and the Government of Vietnam, demonstrate anew that we are determined to bring them the better life for which they long, and which is their right.
Note: The ceremony was held at 1:50 p.m. in the Oval Room at the White House. The text of the citation follows:
Major General James W. Humphreys, Jr. distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious service to the United States in a position of great responsibility as Assistant Director for Public Health, United States Agency for International Development to the Republic of Vietnam from 9 June 1965 to 31 May 1967. In this very important assignment as chief American medical officer in Vietnam, General Humphreys demonstrated exceptional leadership, organizational ability, foresight and unselfish devotion to duty in creating a national health program which revolutionized treatment and care of the sick in Vietnam and increased, many fold, the survivability of persons wounded or ill in villages and rural areas. General Humphreys' remarkable achievements fortified the Vietnamese will to resist aggression and have helped the Government of Vietnam in its efforts to serve the people and to win their confidence. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of General Humphreys are in keeping with the highest standards of performance and traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President Upon Awarding the Distinguished Service Medal to Maj. Gen. James W. Humphreys, Jr., USAF Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/238564