The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Michael L. Burns, United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight in aerial flight on 18 November 1965. Lieutenant Burns was Strike Leader in a flight of four A1-H aircraft in a strike against an important bridge used by hostile forces in Southeast Asia. Upon arrival over the target, the flight encountered weather which required changes in the pre-briefed attack plan. He then directed the aircraft into a near vertical attack on the bridge through a hold in the cloud cover. In the face of heavy enemy fire, he placed his 1,000-pound bomb on the structure, severing it from its approach foundation, thereby denying the enemy the use of a central supply route.