The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Soldier’s Medal to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) William D. Crone (ASN: 0-799922), United States Army Air Forces, for heroism at Harris Auxiliary Field, Fort Valley, Georgia on 24 April 1944, when two airplanes crashed and caught fire after colliding in midair. The pilot of one of the airplanes, Aviation Cadet Robert D. Heis, Jr., though conscious, was so severely and painfully injured that he was unable to extricate himself from the wreckage. Lieutenant Crone, who was standing nearby when the two airplanes collided on their approach for a landing, proceeded immediately to one of the flaming airplanes and succeeded in removing the injured aviation cadet from the cockpit.