The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant Herbert P. Becker (MCSN: 0-3908), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an airplane pilot attached to Aircraft Squadrons, Second Marine Brigade, operating in the Republic of Nicaragua. On 22 July 1931, while leading a two-plane patrol, he discovered a large group of bandits in Saclin on the Coco River. Despite heavy fire from the ground during which his plane was hit twice by bullets and the accompanying plane sixteen times, he attacked the bandits with such determination and skill that their fire was silenced and many were killed. Again, on 26 July 1931, although weather conditions were extremely poor and it was so late in the day that after the operation he had to land his plane at Puerto Cabezas after dark, Lieutenant Becker covered the landing from boats in the Coco River of a Guardia patrol at Saclin with such effectiveness that only a few stray shots were fired at the patrol by bandits and Saclin was quickly occupied with no Guardia casualties. During the period 16 July to 22 July 1931, Lieutenant Becker displayed qualities of leadership, courage, skill and determination of such a high order that the aviation operations under his command and his own individual achievements in making daily patrols in extremely bad weather contributed materially to the breaking up of a large bandit concentration in North eastern Nicaragua and to the prevention of bandit depredations in the vicinity of Puerto Cabezas.