The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Richard Francis Gordon, Jr., United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 24 May 1961 while participating in the Bendix Trophy Race as pilot of an F-4H Phantom aircraft. Exercising outstanding airmanship and resourcefulness, Lieutenant Gordon succeeded in winning the Bendix Trophy Race and in establishing a new transcontinental speed record for jet aircraft from Los Angeles, California, to New York, New York, with an elapsed time of two hours and 47 minutes, which is 21 minutes under the previous record time for this event.