The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Thomas Milton Gammage, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane and Section Leader in Torpedo Squadron FORTY-SEVEN (VT-47), attached to the U.S.S. BATAAN (CVL-29), in action against powerful units of the Japanese Fleet at Kure Harbor, Honshu Island, Japan, on 28 July 1945. Braving intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire from shore batteries and several Naval units in the vicinity, Lieutenant Gammage pressed home an attack against the enemy heavy cruiser TONE and, despite a heavy barrage of protective gunfire from the vessel, succeeded in scoring one hit on the port side aft of the stack. His courage and devotion to duty contributed materially to her sinking immediately after the attack and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.