The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Captain Norborne Lewis Rawlings, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States. Captain Rawlings exercised keen foresight and expert technical judgment in planning the shipyards and construction requirements for the special destroyer escort program in 1943, and effected essential measure for creating, manning and supervising the necessary shipbuilding and manufacturing facilities.