Lieutenant EARL FRED LIGHTNER, U.S.N.R. Awarded the NAVY CROSS for extraordinary heroism as Pilot of a Torpedo Bomber in Torpedo Squadron Fifteen, attached to the U.S.S. Essex, in action against the enemy Japanese Fleet during the Battle for Leyte Gulf, on October 24 , 1944. Skillfully piloting his plane in the face of intense and accurate antiaircraft fire, Lieutenant (then Lt.J.G.) Lightner scored a direct torpedo hit at close range on a hostile heavy cruiser. His courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Lieutenant Lightner joined the Legion of Valor in 1947 and resided in California.