The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant, Junior Grade John G. Collier, United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Pilot of an aircraft in Patrol Squadron FORTY-EIGHT (VP-48), en route across the Cuyamaca mountains from the United States Naval Air Station, North Island, San Diego, California, to the Salton Sea, on 1 January 1959. When an uncontrollable fire started in the starboard engine, resulting in a rapid loss of altitude, Lieutenant, Junior Grade Collier ordered his eight crew members to parachute and immediately began to jettison fuel and to send out distress signals. With his co-pilot directing the bailing out of the crew, he skillfully guided the crippled aircraft away from inhabited areas and steadfastly remained at the controls until the plane’s bombs and torpedoes were dropped in the clear, and his co-pilot had jumped. Parachuting at too low an altitude just before the plane crashed, Lieutenant, Junior Grade Collier gallantly sacrificed his own life to insure the safety of others.