The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] William Robinson Nutt, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Torpedo Plane and Division Leader in Torpedo Squadron NINETY-FOUR (VT-94), attached to the U.S.S. LEXINGTON (CV-16), in action against enemy Japanese forces at the Japanese Naval Anchorage, Kure, Honshu, Japan, on 28 July 1945. Leading his division of four torpedo bombers in a coordinated attack against major units of the Japanese Fleet in their heavily-defended anchorage, Lieutenant Nutt dived through intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire from ships and shore installations to score a direct hit on a heavy cruiser, thereby contributing materially to its destruction. Then, effecting a rendezvous of his division, he led it back to the carrier for a distance of over two hundred miles despite unfavorable weather conditions. His airmanship and gallant devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.