The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Darrell W. Edson, United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Pilot in Attack Squadron ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-TWO (VA-152), embarked in U.S.S. ORISKANY (CVA-34), during an air search and rescue attempt in North Vietnam on 13 November 1965. When alerted that a U.S. Navy aircraft had been shot down, Lieutenant Edson proceeded immediately to the scene and descended into the search pattern to identify the downed pilot visually amidst the myriad of North Vietnamese people who were surrounding the area. Although visibility was restricted by low ceilings and rain, and despite a continuous barrage of enemy small arms fire, he made several exceptionally low passes at bush-top level in an attempt to divert the captors and possibly allow the pilot to evade. Lieutenant Edson courageously remained in the search area until his wingman suffered a hit and was forced to retire from the area. Later inspection revealed that Lieutenant Edson’s aircraft had sustained 12 hits of various sizes.