The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Marshall E. Dickens, United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as Co-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 Dickins directed the parachuting of the eight crew members and elected to remain with the crippled aircraft to assist the pilot in dropping the plane’s bombs and torpedoes in the clear, away from inhabited areas. Parachuting at too low an altitude moments before the plane crashed, he gallantly sacrificed his own life to insure the safety of others.