COMMANDER GERALD M. HUFFMAN (then Lieutenant Junior Grade), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism as Pilot of a Fighter Plane in Fighting Squadron EIGHTY-TWO, attached to the U.S.S. BENNINGTON, in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Japanese Inland Sea, March 19, 1945. Participating in a strike against hostile war ships and naval installations, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Huffman shot down in flames an enemy fighter plane and, attacking an enemy aircraft carrier in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire, scored two direct rocket hits which caused serious damage to the flight deck of the Japanese warship. His outstanding airmanship and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Commander Huffman resides in Arizona.