The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Commander William Edward Ellis (NSN: 0-63180), United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight while acting as target coordinator of a strike composed of planes from carrier air groups, against enemy airfields in the vicinity of the Philippine Islands, 18 October 1944. After swiftly surveying assigned targets, and finding them unprobitable, he scouted islands north of Luzon and spotted four large enemy transports hidden in a bay of one of the islands. Leaving two divisions to take care of the airfields, he directed the remainder of the flight to the bay and skillfully assigned specific targets to the divisions as they arrived. Within half-an-hour a 10,000-tonner was burning furiously, a 9,000-tonner was beached and burning; one 7,000-tonner was on the bottom of the bay; another 7,000-tonner had disappeared in a terrific explosion; and there were hundreds of Japanese milling around in the water. By sheer initiative, aggressiveness and personal resourcefulness he transformed what had every indication of being a wasted, unproductive mission, into a devastating blow against enemy shipping. His courage and skill were at all times inspiring and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.