The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Commander Lawrence E. Wear, Jr., United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight is combat with the enemy as a pilot while attached to and serving with Fighter Squadron Ninety-six embarked in USS ENTERPRISE (CVA(N)-65). On 10 June 1967, Lieutenant Commander Wear was the flight leader of a division of F-4Bs in a highly successful coordinated strike on the heavily defended and strategically important Van Dien storage facility five miles south of Hanoi in the most heavily protected sector of North Vietnam. Lieutenant Commander Wear, in the face of continuous and extreme enemy opposition, flew long distances at high speeds and low altitudes over enemy territory to deliver his ordnance precisely on a large warehouse area in the Van Dien complex, causing fires, explosions and great damage. Despite numerous surface-to-air missiles guiding at his aircraft and a hail of anti-aircraft fire of all calibers, he displayed extraordinary courage and superb airmanship in tenaciously and determinedly pressing home his attack, even though his aircraft was struck by enemy ground fire as he rolled in. His heroic actions and determination in the face of the most concentrated defenses the enemy could offer were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.