The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] Eugene D. Gilbertson, United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a member of a strike group attacking a railroad/highway bridge near Dong Phong Thuong, North Vietnam, on 3 April 1965. Lieutenant Gilbertson scored direct hits on the bridge and completely knocked out the center span, despite reduced visibility, and extremely narrow target, crosswinds and enemy anti-aircraft fire, which had enabled the bridge to withstand three previous attacks.