The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander [then Lieutenant] William Edwin Harrison, Jr., United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber and Section Leader in Bombing Squadron SIXTEEN (VB-16), attached to the U.S.S. LEXINGTON (CV-16), in action against enemy Japanese forces during the First Battle of the Philippine Sea, on 20 June 1944. Leading his section in a daring strike against two enemy carriers far from home base, Lieutenant Commander Harrison maneuvered for advantageous striking position and, carrying out his attack with outstanding skill in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire and relentless aerial opposition, contributed materially to the sinking of one of the enemy carriers, the probable sinking of the second and to the destruction of two attacking hostile planes, Then, leading his section on the long and hazardous return flight to base, he succeeded in affecting a safe night landing on board the LEXINGTON. By his airmanship, courage and devotion to duty throughout this hazardous operation, Lieutenant Commander Harrison upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.