(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Benjamin E. Armstrong (ASN: 0-673011), United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as Bombardier of a B-24 Liberator Bomber of the FIFTEENTH Air Force, in aerial operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, in 1944, while based in Italy and returning from a rail and oil target in Romania during World War II. On the return trip, Lieutenant Armstrong learned that ten of the bombs had failed to release and that the slightest jar might cause them to explode inside the plane. Working without a parachute and in extreme cold, he managed to release all of the bombs from the open bomb bay by hand. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by First Lieutenant Armstrong, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army Air Forces.