Then LL Kennedy in March 1944 at the age of 26 years

Unmindful of personal danger, LL(jg) Kennedy unhesi-

tatingly braved the difj°wulties and hazards of darkness to

direct rescue operations, swimming many hours to secure

aid and food after he had succeeded in getting his crew

ashore. His outstanding courage, endurance, and leader-

ship contributed to the saving of several lives and was in

keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval

Service."

The story of Kennedy’s NMCM did not end with its award to him in 1943. Almost immediately, some won- dered why a noncombat decoration was awarded when Lt. Kennedy’s heroism had occtm-ed as a direct result of enemy action. The facts were that Kennedy had been on patrol near the Solomon Islands on I-2 August 1943. About 2:30 a.m. and while operating with poor visibility under a very dark night, PT 109 was rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amaguri. The ramming appeared to be accidental because the Japanese vessel, moving at 40 knots, "neither slowed nor fired as she split" Kennedy’s boat in half. PT 109 was turning starboard to position itself to fire its torpedoes; but the turn was interrupted by the collision, which set the boat’s gasoline tanks on fire and forced the crew to abandon ship. Lieutenant Ken-

Volume 52 Number 4

nedy’s subsequent heroism ensured that his crew sur- vived.39

Among those who questioned the appropriateness of Kennedy’s NMCM was his father, Joe Senior. The senior Kennedy likely viewed the Purple Heart his son had received for injuries sustained during the collision as proof that the incident had been a combat situation. The Navy, however, stood by the award of the NMCM; and no further action was taken until the 1950s when Jack Kennedy, now a civilian with an interest in politics, made a number of formal inquires about his NMCM. In a 27 February 1950 response to Kennedy, the Navy Board of Decorations and Medals concluded that "since this was a lifesaving case following [emphasis added] an attempted torpedo attack on a Jap destroyer, it can only be assumed that ComSoPac [then Adm. William F. ’Bull’ Halsey], wishing to recognize this meritorious service, awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal." The Navy Board did suggest, however, that the Bronze Star Medal might be awarded in place of the NMCM if Kennedy desired to apply for this medal.4° Jack Kennedy must have raised the issue later, because he was advised in a 25 October 1959 letter from the Board of Decorations and Medals that he could elect to keep the NMCM or select the Bronze Star Medal instead.41 Kennedy took no further action on the matter, and it ended with his assassination in 1963.

Post-World War II Through the Vietnam Era. The Navy awarded thousands of NMCMs between 1946 and 1973. There were awards for noncombat heroism in Korea and Vietnam, but most were for incidents on U.S. soil. For example, Marine Sgt. Arthur L. Silva received the NMCM in 1946 for heroism in rescuing two children from a house fire that "totally destroyed the home of Mrs. Manuel Silva [no kin] of Dighton, Mass."

The following citation for a late Vietnam-era award to then Cpl. Norman G. Root is another example. While the Secretary of the Navy approved Root’s NMCM, his citation was signed by Gen. Cushman, the Commandant of the Marine Corps:

"For heroism while serving with Company D, Marine Security Battalion, at Managua, Nicaragua. Soon after midnight on 23 December 1972, a violent destructive earthquake occurred in Managua which caused devastating damage and killed thousands of people. When Corporal Root arrived at the American embassy, it was in ruins and the adjacent staff apartment building had collapseeL Upon

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The Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America

hearing a call for help, Corporal Root and other members

of Company D found a space through which they crawled

and discovered a woman trapped in the ~vreckage of her

apartment Advancing as close to her as possible, they

detected that her furniture was blocking access to her.

Undaunted in the dire circumstances, Corporal Root and the

other Marine crawled out of the mass of wreckage, obtained

valuable tools, and returned to the upheaval where they

worked about four hours continually until the woman was

rescued By his courageous and seO~less action its the face of great personal danger, Corporal Root upheld the highest

traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval

Service."

Post-Vietnam Era. Considering that the Navy awards between 20 to 30 NMCMs each year to sailors and ma- fines, hundreds have been issued since the last American troops left Vietnam in 1973, including the first award to a woman. The first female recipient was Ens. Deborah Anne Bumette, who had just begun her naval career when she rescued a child from the path of an automobile.

Another typical post-Vietnam award is the NMCM to LCpl. Sean D. Gibson, who exhibited lifesaving heroism under conditions of extremely cold weather. His citation reads:

"For heroism in extreme cold weather conditions while

serving with Co. E, 4th Reconnaissance Bn., 4th Marine

Div., during Operation BRIM FROST ’89from 27 January

to 29 January 1989. During this period, LCpL Gibson

continuously exposed himself to injury and life threatening

temperatures reaching below minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit

in repeated actions to contact and extract units of his

company from the fieM. Completely exhausted and with

total disregard for his own personal safety, he repeatedly left

a cabin at Beluga, Alaska, to evacuate seriously injured

Marines and their equipment to safety, and continued to

look after their morale, weOeare, and injuries. By his

extraordinary courage and prompt actions its the face of

personal danger, LCpL Gibson directly prevented loss of life

or further injury to Marines."

Former CpL and later Maj. Root in 1994 and Root’s medal group. Besides the NMCM, the group contains (in order of prece- dence) the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal, National Defense Ser- vice Meda~ SouthwestAsia Meda~ Armed Forces Reserve Medal (Marine Corps issue), and the Saudi Kuwait Liberation Medal

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Ensign Burnette receives her NMCM from the Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf during a ceremony at the Pentagon in March 1975

Former Lance Corporal now Captain Sean D. Gibson

Volume 52 Number 4

Occasionally, a significant life-threatening incident oc- curs that result in multiple awards of the NMCM. The Iraqi missile attack on the USS Stark is a good example. On 17 March 1987, while on routine patrol in the Persian Gulf to protect American merchant vessels from attack in the Iran-Iraq War, the Stark was struck by two Exocet missiles fired by an Iraqi Mirage F-1 fighter jet. Only one missile warhead exploded, but nonetheless a 15-foot hole was ripped into the side of the Stark. Of the slightly more than 200 crew members serving aboard the 3,600- ton frigate, 37 were killed. For heroism in extinguishing fires that reached 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit and pulling their fellow sailors from the wreckage, 12 crew members were recognized by the award of the NMCM. They were (alphabetically):

Lieutenant Carl S. Barbour Fire Control Technician 2nd C1. Lance D. Collins Lieutenant William A. Conklin Hospital Corpsman 1st C1. David W. Dickerson Gas Turbine Systems Technician 1 st Cl. Randy E. Engram Operations Specialist 2nd C1. Timothy S. Gable Lieutenant Commander Raymond J. Gajan, Jr. Master-at-Arms 1 st C1. Dwayne R. Massey Lieutenant Basil E. Moncrief Fire Control Technician 3rd C1. William G. Morandi Hull Maintenance Technician 1st C1. M.J. O’Keefe, and Gunner’s Mate 3rd C1. Mark W. Samples

Six years after the Stark incident, a similar life-threat- ening environment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk also resulted in multiple NMCM awards. On 11 July 1994, an F-14 fighter jet struck the ramp of the carrier’s flight deck and exploded during an attempted landing. The flight deck became a sea of flames and wreckage; and to-make matters worse, the F-14 pilot had ejected upon impact and landed in the midst of the infemo. Without regard for their own safety, five sailors working on the flight deck inunediately ran into the flames and rescued the pilot. The sailors then extinguish- ed the fire. For their heroism, all five men were awarded the NMCM. They were:

Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) Leroy Danielly

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 2nd el. Jose Dickson

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 1 st C1. Tim Goode

Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd C1 Brandon Liesemeyer, and

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Aircraft Handling) 1st C1 Larry Spradlin

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