The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Edwin O. Rhodes, United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 15 December 1965, while serving with an attack squadron in Southeast Asia. When prevented from attacking the primary target by ground control difficulties, and observing that the secondary target had been destroyed, Lieutenant Rhodes began to search for targets of opportunity. He led his flight, successively damaging a camouflaged ferry, dropping the center span of a railroad-highway bridge and cratering the approach to a smaller highway bridge. He returned to his ship only after receiving heavy damage to his aircraft by enemy ground fire as he descended to identify what appeared to be a transport barge.