The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Captain Byron McQuady Burbage (MCSN: 0-27228), United States Marine Corps, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight against the enemy in Korea on 24 July 1951. Captain Burbage was the flight leader of a division of four F4U’s assigned the mission of destroying a large group of enemy artillery positions at the town of Sohao-ri that had been shelling the friendly island of Sho-to. Despite the intense enemy ground fire, Captain Burbage led his flight in a series of expertly executed runs and personally scored a direct hit on one artillery position with a five hundred pound bomb. He then located the other gun positions in the area and led his division in repeated attacks on them. Captain Burbage pressed his runs to extremely low altitudes and effectively destroyed or damaged these positions with strafing and rocket attacks. It was on one of these runs that his plane was struck by the intense enemy ground fire and it was seen to roll over and crash into the ground. Captain Burbage’s courageous leadership, efficient action and fearless devotion to duty in this action, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.