The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Commander Robert P. Nottingham, United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as leader of a flight of thirteen aircraft on 5 August 1964, assigned to find and destroy motor torpedo boats at their bases in North Vietnam. Commander Nottingham led his flight through 300 miles of adverse weather, then pin-pointed the targets and led a coordinated rocket attack on the enemy vessels. His own rockets, delivered at close range in the face of heavy anti-aircraft fire, severely damaged one of the motor torpedo boats. Only ten hours earlier, Commander Nottingham had led another flight through darkness, heavy rain and thunderstorms to provide air support for two U.S. destroyers besieged by North Vietnamese motor torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. His skill in locating the destroyers and positioning his flight for their support contributed materially to the over-all successful effort of air and surface units in repulsing the attack on U.S. forces.