The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Commander Duncan F. Francis, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. WILLIAM C. MILLER (DE-259), on 14 July 1944. Lieutenant Commander Francis skillfully and tenaciously conducted a search for a Japanese warship, made and maintained contact and destroyed it by a series of well-directed attacks.