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 William Edwin Brown (MCSN: 0-28831), United States Marine Corps, for heroism while participating in aerial flight against the enemy during the attack on enemy positions at Hang-ye, Korea, on 21 March 1951. Captain Brown, serving as a pilot with a Marine Fighter Squadron, was a member of a flight of four aircraft requested to attack an enemy position entrenched on a ridge. The target was obscured by dense smoke and haze which made it extremely difficult to locate from the air. Completely disregarding his own safety, Captain Brown, in the face of intense enemy ground fire, pressed repeated attacks to dangerously low altitudes in a determined effort to neutralize the target. Through his skillful airmanship, forty enemy troops were killed, enabling our ground forces to overrun the position with little opposition. His aggressive action and fearless devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.


