The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Commander (MC), [then Lieutenant, Junior Grade] James Edward Eppley (NSN: 0-80583), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States while serving as a physician and surgeon at the Chasi Prison Camp and the Morioka Hospital Camp, Japan, from March 1943 to August 1945. Working with little or no equipment and medicine, and under the most primitive conditions of sanitation, Lieutenant Commander Eppley performed his duties with unwavering courage and exceptional medical ability, preserving the lives and health of hundreds of allied Prisoners of War who lived on a starvation diet throughout this period. With his status as medical officer unrecognized throughout his imprisonment, he was forced to practice his profession in accordance with procedure dictated by the Japanese who, in most cases, were ignorant of basic modern medical practice. Although subjected to mental and physical punishment for intervention in behalf of the sink, Lieutenant Commander Eppley staunchly continued his efforts, displaying complete abnegation of self interest and heroic disregard for his own health, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.