(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Loye James Lauraine, Jr. (ASN: 0-750628), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a B-17 Heavy Bomber in the 837th Bombardment Squadron, 487th Bombardment Group (H), EIGHTH Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission on 25 November 1944, against enemy ground targets in the European Theater of Operations. On that date, Lieutenant Lauraine’s plane had just finished dropping it’s bombs on an oil refinery in Merseburgh, Germany, when it was hit by a burst of flak from enemy anti-aircraft guns. With masterful airmanship, he piloted the crippled bomber back to England and ordered his crew to bail out. As Lieutenant Lauraine prepared to bail out, the plane went into a steep dive and was headed toward a densely populated military installation. Instead of jumping out, which he could have done, the he went back to the controls and regained altitude. By his actions Lieutenant Lauraine saved the lives of many on the ground but he lost his own, as the B-17 went into a violent spin and crashed in an open field. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by First Lieutenant Lauraine on this occasion, at the cost of his life, have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 8th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.