The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Captain Frank Bernard Baldwin (MCSN: 0-11052), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as Section Leader in Marine Fighting Squadron TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE (VMF-221). Captain Baldwin has, with expert airmanship and singularly aggressive spirit, performed his duties as a fighter pilot. He has flown, to date, in three tours of combat duty, a total of 285.3 hours in the course of making 102 missions against our enemies. His victories include the destruction of three enemy aircraft and the probable destruction of an additional plane in aerial combat, the destruction of six enemy planes on the ground, and the participation in the destruction of two enemy supply ships and two barges, and the damaging of a gun boat and another barge. On 22 October 1943, Captain Baldwin led his Section in a four plane strafing mission on Kara airfield without fighter cover. After struggling with weather that took the planes over a hundred miles off course, they arrived at the target and raked it so fiercely that 21 of the 25 to 30 aircraft seen on the field were destroyed. Captain Baldwin personally destroyed five of the enemy planes. His fearless devotion to duty and aggressiveness of spirit contributed largely to the success of the mission, which materially aided in the neutralization of Japanese air power in the Northern Solomons. On 29 October, Captain Baldwin led his Section as part of the fighter cover of B-25 bombers that were going to bomb Buka and Bonis airfields; in addition the fighters had the mission of strafing. So fiercely and skillfully did Captain Baldwin carry out his mission that he shot into flames a Japanese fighter plane on the ground. The mission was carried out unmindful of curtains of anti-aircraft fire thrown up by the Japanese. On 30 October Captain Baldwin participated in a flight escorting bombers to destroy enemy shipping in Kieta Harbor. By ceaseless watchfulness and vigilance Captain Baldwin aided his division leader in spotting the target ships and dove down in a strafing attack, vainly trying to show the bombers where the target was, and climbed again to act as cover. When the bombers left for their home base, the fighters returned and pressed home attack after attack against the ships. The mission resulted in the burning of two supply ships and a barge and the damaging of a gunboat and two additional barges.

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Captain Frank Bernard Baldwin (MCSN: 0-11052), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight in operations against the enemy in the vicinity of Iwo Jima, Honshu and Okinawa as pilot of a carrier-based fighter plane during the period 21 February 1945 to 9 May 1945. Captain Baldwin completed twenty flights in a combat area where enemy anti-aircraft fire was expected to be effective or where enemy aircraft patrols usually occurred. His conduct throughout has distinguished him among those performing duties of the same character.