The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Commander [then Lieutenant Commander] Robert Alexander Winston, United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while leading a four-plane division of fighter planes on 30 March 1944. Commander Winston courageously attacked a formation of Judy dive-bombers and personally shot down three of the nine planes destroyed by his division, thus assisting in preventing any of the enemy planes from attacking his task force.