AWARDED DFC: 1
CONFLICT/SPACE FLIGHT/EVENT:  Korea
MODEL:  AD-4N Skyraider

Citation:  1.) The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Commander Felix F. Bertagna, United States Naval Reserve, for heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as Pilot of an Attack Bomber in Fighter Squadron FIFTY FOUR, attached to Composite Squadron THIRTY FIVE, based on board the U.S.S. ESSEX, during operations against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 18 October 1951. Participating in a pre-dawn heckler strike against enemy installations, Lieutenant Commander Bertagna carried out repeated low-level bombing attacks and scored direct hits upon truck convoys moving along a major supply route west of Wonsan. At dawn, he sighted an enemy supply train in the vicinity of Yongchung and fearlessly pressed home his attack in the face of withering and accurate antiaircraft fire to score a direct hit upon the locomotive, rendering the entire train immobile. Continuing to strafe the boxcars until his ammunition was expended, Lieutenant Commander Bertagna, by his expert airmanship, outstanding courage and devotion to duty, contributed materially to the success of his squadron in inflicting extensive damage upon the enemy and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.