Commander Ronald R. Zuilkoski, commanding officer of the Long Beach home ported destroyer USS Higbee (DD 806), received the Silver Star for his " conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy on April 19, 1972. "

The medal, the nation's fifth highest military decoration, was presented by Captain R. D. Pace, Jr., Commander Destroyer Squadron Nine, in a ceremony conducted onboard Higbee.

     The citation accompanying the medal cited Cdr. Zuilkoski for his actions when the Higbee was struck by a bomb dropped from a MIG 17 as the ship was conducting a gunfire mission against targets in North Vietnam.

     The bomb hit a gun mount, exploded in the mount's upper ammunition handling room, and when the ammunition stored there exploded, completely destroyed the mount, handling room, magazine sprinkling systems and fire mains in the aft section of the ship.

     The explosion also ruptured the aft fuel tanks, spewing over 90,000 gallons of the highly flammable liquid throughout the aft portion of the ship. Flames soon engulfed the entire aft section, which still contained over 600 rounds of ammunition. As secondary explosions rocked the ship, Cdr. Zuilkoski maneuvered his ship out of range of the coastal batteries still firing upon the ship and directed firefighting operations which succeeded in controlling the flames some two hours later.

Through his calm and heroic leadership he inspired his crew to remain calm and perform in a professional manner in an adverse condition.