The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to First Lieutenant Edward C. Keeley (MCSN: 0-24789), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Division Leader and Pilot of a Fighter Plane in Marine Fighting Squadron THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE (VMF-323), Marine Air Group THIRTY-THREE (MAG-33), FOURTH Marine Aircraft Wing, in aerial combat against enemy Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands, on 11 May 1945. Despite a dangerous decline of oil pressure, First Lieutenant Keeley led a section of a four-plane division in an attack on an enemy fighter sweeping in ahead of hostile bombers heading toward our shipping and, engaging the Japanese in fierce combat, sent him crashing into the sea. Climbing to a higher altitude, he sighted the formation of nine enemy fighter-bombers approaching our ships and, diving through the clouds, carried out three successive runs, delivering accurate gunfire to blast three of the bombers from the sky and contribute materially to the success of his division in destroying the remainder. His skill as an airman and devotion to duty throughout reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.