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No. You don't get a DFC for "flying enought missions" (that would be an Air Medal). You get a DFC for demonstrating uncommon courage in air combat. (Which tailgunner Joe did not do.)

Often times medals are awarded based on "stock" criteria, such a completeling a given number of missions, or serving in a particular location for a certain number of days. Besides, the DFC is not awarded only for "uncommon courage in air combat" but also for "extraordinary achievement", in fact the criteria does not require combat at all, only that the event occur during aerial flight. Lindberg got one for flying the Atlantic, and even Amehilia Airheart got one, as did the Wright brothers, retroactively in their case.

After a little seraching around to try to find the *real* criteria used in WW-II. I gound the following:

Included was a medal Mulcahy couldn’t recall ever actually having had in his hand: the Distinguished Flying Cross awarded for completing 20 combat missions in the western Pacific between March 29 and June 19, 1945. “I had it on paper,” he recalled." here .

So apparently, in at least some cases, the DFC was awarded on the basis of combat missions flown. Undoubtably the "real" criteria has changed since WW-II, so your experience may be different.

After a little seraching around to try to find the *real* criteria used in WW-II. I gound the following:

Heavens to Murgatroy. I'll try that again.

After a little searching. I found the following:

Good points which I accept. As I recall, Joe tried to imply that he had done things which he did not and that his service was more "heroic" than it actually was - that is how he got the nickname of "Tailgunner Joe".

Again, I am not disputing what Ann has said about the liberals of that time or the present - I am disputing the wisdom of "lionizing" McCarthy to do that. My personal experience gives me the opinion that McCarthy was the conservative equivalent of Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, etc.