On 1st May 1961 Flt. Lt. Desoares was engaged in a sortie to drop food supplies to an Army detachment on the northeastern border. While nearing the dropping zone, he noticed that his Dakota was losing height very rapidly due to a down draught. Despite all the corrective actions taken, the aircraft-continued to go out of control. Flt. Lt. Desoares, with great presence of mind, skillfully directed the aircraft out of the wooded area and landed it on the snowcovered portion of the hill. On impact, a fuel tank of the aircraft caught fire and a portion of the aircraft disintegrated. Flt. Lt. Desoares though injured managed to extricate himself from the crashed aircraft and pulled his copilot out. He then rushed to the rear of the burning aircraft, in utter disregard of his personal safety, to rescue other personnel who might be injured or trapped.

Flt. Lt. Desoares continued to help his comrades and managed to rescue two of the Army ejection personnel. Thereafter he proceeded to recover the bodies of other crew members from the burning aircraft again disregarding his own personal safety.

Due to the psychological state of the survivors and the extent of their injuries, Flt. Lt. Desoares decided to keep his party near the aircraft for the next two days. With hardly any food, water, or warm clothing, he, by his personal example, infused confidence and courage in the survivors which helped them to pass two nights in a blizzard.

On the third day Flt. Lt. Desoares decided to leave the place of the accident and skillfully led the survivors through treacherous moun tainous terrain and forests with thick undergrowth to safety.

Throughout the operation, Flt. Lt. Desoares displayed the highest form of leadership and devotion to duty, in keeping with the best traditions of the Air Force. His exemplary action will be a source of inspiration to other pilots engaged in similar missions over difficult terrain.