The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Philip Leroy Kirkwood (NSN: 0-250908), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron TEN (VF-10), attached to the U.S.S. INTREPID (CV-11), in action against enemy Japanese forces near Okinawa, on 16 April 1945. Boldly intercepting and overwhelming a force of Japanese aircraft maneuvering to attack our Fleet units, Lieutenant Kirkwood promptly engaged the enemy in furious combat, personally destroying four Japanese planes and directing his division in demolishing fourteen more. Quick to act when two of the hostile craft launched savage suicide dives on a surface vessel below, he immediately plunged through withering anti-aircraft fire to strike smashing blows against the enemy planes and, by his relentless determination and indomitable courage, succeeded in blasting them from the sky. By his superb skill as and airman and his intrepid fighting spirit and brilliant combat tactics throughout this period of intense aerial activity, Lieutenant Kirkwood contributed materially to the effective coverage provided our surface units and reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.