The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander Kenneth Edward Hume, United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while serving with Fighter Squadron ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-FOUR (VF-154), in the Republic of Vietnam on 29 March 1965. As an aircraft Section Leader, Lieutenant Commander Hume led his unit in a rocket attack against an enemy military installation of prime importance. The unit made a diving attack in the face of heavy hostile ground fire, scoring direct hits and inflicting severe damage to the objective. After completing his attack, Lieutenant Commander Hume reported a fire in the after section of his aircraft and attempted to save the plane by flying at reduced power to his carrier base. However, control was subsequently lost and his aircraft crashed into the sea.