The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Samuel Theodore Thornton (NSN: 0-157119), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber in Bombing Squadron SIX (VB-6), attached to the U.S.S. HANCOCK (CV-19), in the attack on major units of the Japanese fleet in Kure Harbor, Japan, consisting of battleships, carriers and heavy cruisers, on 24 July 1945. Lieutenant Thornton skillfully and courageously piloted his aircraft through intense anti-aircraft fire, from both the enemy warships in the harbor and the many gun emplacements on shore. He scored a direct bomb hit on the battleship assigned him as a target contributing materially to the heavy and extensive damage done this warship which later settled to the bottom of the harbor. His skill and courage were at all times in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.