AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  WWII
MODEL:  B-29

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States takes great pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Staff Sergeant John C. Davis for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 29 May 1945 from a base in the Marianas Islands. These individuals were combat crew members of a B-29 aircraft which flew as alternate deputy leader in a daylight incendiary strike against the industrial and urban area of Yokohama, Japan. Shortly after making landfall numerous fighters attacked and, before bombs away, they encountered an intense barrage of flak which damaged all the aircraft in the lead flight, forced the deputy leader out of position, and put one of their own engines out of commission. Despite the damaged condition of their own plane, they assumed the deputy lead position and pressed home the attack, dropping their bombs squarely on the target and aiding materially in the destruction of seven square miles of the city. The courage and determination this crew displayed in carrying out their attack against severe enemy opposition reflect great credit on themselves and the Army Air Forces.