The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting a Third Gold Star in lieu of a Fourth Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Captain [then Commander] Homer Leroy Smith, United States Navy, for heroism while participating in aerial flight on 24 April 1967, as Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron TWO HUNDRED TWELVE (VA-212), embarked in U.S.S. HANCOCK (CVA-19), during combat operations in Southeast Asia. As strike leader of a sixteen-plane strike group in an attack against the well-defended and extremely important Hon Gai Railroad Marshalling Yard in North Vietnam, Captain Smith skillfully led the strike group to a position behind the mountains north of Hon Gai. As the strike group crossed the mountains, it unexpectedly ran into heavy, accurate anti-aircraft fire from a fully alerted enemy. In the face of this intense opposition, Captain Smith tenaciously positioned the attack and flak-suppression elements at their pre-selected attack positions and led them in a devastating attack. He delivered his own bombs with great accuracy and destroyed numerous railroad boxcars, cutting the railroad tracks in several places. By his inspiring leadership, outstanding airmanship, and courage in the face of extremely heavy enemy defenses, Captain Smith made a most significant contribution to the success of this important mission. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Captain [then Commander] Homer Leroy Smith, United States Navy, for heroism while participating in aerial flight on 4 April 1966, as pilot of a light jet attack aircraft, serving with Attack Squadron TWO HUNDRED TWELVE (VA-212), embarked in U.S.S. HANCOCK (CVA-19), during aerial combat operations in Southeast Asia. As leader of a light jet attack division, Captain Smith participated in a strike against the Phuc Loi Petroleum Storage Area near Vinh, North Vietnam. In spite of extremely heavy enemy anti-aircraft defenses, he led his flight into a known surface-to-air missile envelope and to the assigned target. Captain Smith then led a precise, low-altitude bombing attack which scored direct hits on and inflicted substantial damage to the target. His superb judgment and airmanship were greatly responsible for the success of this important mission. Captain Smith’s leadership and steadfast devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Captain [then Commander] Homer Leroy Smith, United States Navy, for heroism while participating in aerial flight on 12 June 1966, as Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron TWO HUNDRED TWELVE (VA-212), embarked in U.S.S. HANCOCK (CVA-19), during aerial combat operations in Southeast Asia. Assigned as strike leader in a twelve-p-lane strike against the Nam Dinh railroad yard, Captain Smith, disregarding two warnings of the imminent launching of surface-to-air missiles against the flight and in the face of extremely heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire, tenaciously led his flight to the pre-selected roll-in point. He then led the attack element in a devastating attack against the target in coordination with finely-timed flak-suppression runs. Through his superb planning and brilliant execution, seven buildings were destroyed and eleven buildings damaged. The courage, determination and leadership displayed by Captain Smith were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting a Second Gold Star in lieu of a Third Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Captain [then Commander] Homer Leroy Smith, United States Navy, for heroism while participating in aerial flight on 10 March 1966, as Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron TWO HUNDRED TWELVE (VA-212), embarked in U.S.S. HANCOCK (CVA-19), during combat operations against enemy forces in North Vietnam. As the leader of twenty-one aircraft in an attack against the heavily defended Hon Gai ammunition storage area, Captain Smith demonstrated outstanding ingenuity and superb aerial leadership in planning and leading the strike. Using his extensive combat experience and his knowledge of enemy defenses, he carefully planned the route to the target in order to lessen the chance of opposition and increase the probability of attaining surprise during the attack phase of the mission. The strike was made with such swiftness and surprise that even though the enemy defenses were alerted by another attack in the immediate area shortly before this attack, only light and sporadic anti-aircraft fire was encountered, and that occurred only after the first bombs had exploded in the target area. All bombs of the attacking group were in the target area. By his courageous determination and unstinting devotion to duty, Captain Smith upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.