The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Charles L. Novosad, Jr., United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Base Medical Officer and Flight Surgeon, Attached to the Mobile Air Facility, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, from 21 January to 16 November 1957. Exercising sound judgment, keen foresight, and unusual professional ability, Lieutenant Novosad was highly successful in carrying out his responsibilities throughout this period. On 12 July 1957, when a helicopter crashed and burned on the ice near the base, resulting in the instantaneous death of one man and critical injuries to two others, Lieutenant Novosad was directly responsible for saving the lives of the two seriously injured men, rendering immediate, diligent, and constant care until they were evacuated on 3 October 1957.