Ralph Ward was credited with destroying two enemy aircraft in aerial combat, both of them on the mission for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross.
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Ralph Ward was credited with destroying two enemy aircraft in aerial combat, both of them on the mission for which he received the Distinguished Service Cross.
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(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Ralph Edward Ward, Jr. (ASN: 0-728779), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-47 Fighter Airplane in the 90th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group, TENTH Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on 27 March 1944, in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. On that date, First Lieutenant Ward was flight leader of a formation of four fighters when they intercepted a Japanese force of nine bombers and multiple fighters. The flight successfully destroying eight aircraft before returning to base safely. First Lieutenant Ward personally accounted for two of the Japanese aircraft destroyed in aerial combat during that mission. First Lieutenant Ward’s unquestionable valor in aerial combat is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 10th Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.