The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant James Wilson Pate, Jr. (NSN: 0-682598), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism on 24 March 1968 as a pilot in Attack Squadron ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE (VA-165), embarked in U.S.S. RANGER (CV-61). Lieutenant Pate served as the Pilot of the first U. S. Navy A-6A night all-weather attack against the strategic and heavily defended Kinh No railroad yard, located on the vital northeast railroad of North Vietnam. Although encountering extremely intense enemy anti-aircraft defenses, a barrage of four surface-to-air missiles, and a near miss that momentarily forced his aircraft into uncontrolled flight, Lieutenant Pate continued to press his attack and succeeded in dropping all weapons on target. During egress, Lieutenant Pate encountered a line of thunderstorms and heavy enemy defenses necessitating an aerial refueling in mid air to safely out-maneuver these obstacles and complete his return to his ship. His heroic actions, professional airmanship, and fearless devotion to duty in the face of grave personal risk were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.