(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Robert Parker (ASN: 0-661368), United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-40 Warhawk Fighter Airplane of the 35th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, FIFTH Air Force, in aerial operations in the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations, on or about 15 November 1943. First Lieutenant Parker was piloting a Curtiss P-40N fighter on a patrol mission with seven other P-40s over the Markham River Valley, New Guinea, when his formation encountered a swarm of enemy aircraft on the southern edge of the Finisterre Range. After shooting down one enemy aircraft, Lieutenant Parker collided with another, the impact shearing a wing off of each and his P-40 crashed near Sagarak. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by First Lieutenant Parker, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army Air Forces.