The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Captain (MC) Robert A. Phillips, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States as Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 from 13 September 1955 to 29 February 1964. Responsible for establishing and directing Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Captain Phillips effectively supervised its activities in the field of research and treatment of tropical diseases and medical disorders in the WestPac Area. Under his skillful direction, new methods for field treatment of cholera were developed and successfully applied to bring quickly under control serious outbreaks of this disease in East Pakistan, the Philippines, Korea and Vietnam; a vaccine which promised ultimate control of trachoma has been developed; invaluable research on parasites in man and animals in North Borneo has been conducted; and extensive encephalitis research in Indonesia has been conducted.