The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander [then Lieutenant] Albert Joseph Corsi, United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Landing Craft-Infantry TWO HUNDRED NINETEEN (LCI-219), during operations against the enemy off the coast of Normandy, France, on 11 June 1944. When his ship was riddled by explosions of an aerial bomb, Lieutenant Commander Corsi rallied the wounded members of his crew and despite severe wounds from shrapnel splinters in his head, neck and leg, attempted to beach his ship with the assistance of a Submarine Chaser. Fighting fires throughout his vessel and aiding in the removal of the wounded until it was apparent that the LCI was about to capsize and sink, he ordered his men to abandon ship and, after all personnel had been evacuated, left the sinking ship and shortly thereafter collapsed from his serious wounds. Lieutenant Commander Corsi’s courage, leadership and gallant devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.