Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Navy and Marine Corps Medal

    Service:

    United States Coast Guard

    Rank:

    Seaman Second Class

    Division:

    U.S.S. PC 469

    Action Date:

    April 13, 1944

    U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office

    (Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: Seaman Second Class Edmond Di Lorenzo, United States Coast Guard, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for extremely heroic conduct while attached to the U.S.S. PC 469 when two enlisted men were washed over board in a heavy sea south of Guantanamo, Cuba, 13 April 1944. Undeterred by knowledge of sharks in the area. Seaman Second Class Di Lorenzo risked his life to assist in the rescue. Accompanied by an officer he obtained life preservers and dived overboard, quickly swimming to the side of one man and calmly supporting him during an attack by a shark on the other victim only a few yards away. Although unable to inflate his own life preserver he remained cool doing everything possible to encourage the frightened an clinging to him as he battled the heavy swells until the arrival of the ship boat.