Lieutenant WILLIAM C. POHTILLA, received his Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism as Pilot of a Dive Bomber in Bombing Squadron TWENTY, attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE, during action against units of the Japanese Fleet in the Battle for Leyte Gulf, October 24, 1944. Flying as wingman on a search and attack mission when an enemy task force was sighted and his division assigned an aircraft carrier as a target, Lieutenant (then Ensign) Pohtilla defied the withering barrages of anti-aircraft fire to dive low over the maneuvering warship and release his bombs at perilously low altitude to score direct hits which started fires and contrubuted to the infliction of extensive damage on the Japanese vessel. His superb airmanship, courage and unwavering devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Lieutenant Pohtilla and the United States Naval Service.

Lieutenant Pohtilla joined the Legion of Valor in 1962 and resides in Minnesota.