The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant Grafton N. Smith, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving as the Pilot of a B-17 aircraft on a heavy bombardment mission against enemy installations over Bonn, Germany, on 10 January 1945. On this date, his aircraft became involved in a mid-air collision with another aircraft resulting in the loss of the nose of the plane. Despite this major damage, Lieutenant Smith was able to keep the plane in the air long enough to find a landing strip. It was necessary to land the plane on its belly with the landing wheels up. The coolness, leadership, and aerial skill displayed by Lieutenant Smith in the face of the many obstacles he had to overcome reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army Air Forces.