The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Air Corps) Harold Lawrence Pederson (ASN: 0-885297), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-51 Fighter Airplane in the 4th Fighter Squadron, 52d Fighter Group, TWELFTH Air Force, in aerial combat against enemy forces on 4 February 1943, in the North African Theater of Operations. When he observed that a fellow pilot had bailed out, Lieutenant Pederson, in the face of superior enemy strength and heedless of his own safety, circled the falling man to protect him from enemy machine guns. His fellow pilot reached the ground safely, but Lieutenant Pederson, whose plane was vulnerable to attacking enemy planes, was shot down and killed. His brave disregard for his own safety and the noble sacrifice for another are exemplary of the highest military traditions