The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander [then Lieutenant] Livingston Swentzel, Jr. (NSN: 0-132257), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the Naval Group, China, when on 21 August 1945, he did so skillfully and relentlessly press the attack on a heavily armed Japanese junk against overwhelming odds that he captured the enemy vessel and inflicted great loss of life to the enemy. On 21 August 1945, Lieutenant Commander Swentzel was in command of two Chinese junks en route from Haimen to Shanghai, with seven Americans and a crew of twenty Chinese guerillas. At 0930 they were attacked by a heavily armed Japanese junk, i.e. one 75-mm. pack howitzer, two heavy machine guns, four light machine guns, one hundred rifles and grenades, a crew of five officers and seventy-eight enlisted men. The first round from the 75-mm. howitzer struck Lieutenant Commander Swentzel’s junk shearing off the foremast. The Chinese crew left their posts and Lieutenant Commander Swentzel took over the helm. Meanwhile, he established contact by means of handy talkie with his second junk and gave orders to close with the enemy. He also ran up the American Flag. They engaged the enemy with two bazookas, one .50 caliber machine gun, one .30 caliber machine gun, and grenades. Lieutenant Commander Swentzel pressed the attack so skillfully and relentlessly against overwhelming odds that at 1015 he boarded the Japanese junk with a prize crew and found a total of forty-flour Japanese (3 officers, 41 enlisted men) killed and thirty-five wounded. The prize crew sailed the junk back to Haimen and turned the craft and prisoners over to Colonel Lo of the Chinese Army. Of Lieutenant Commander Swentzel’s crew, four Chinese were killed, five Chinese wounded, and one American wounded. His distinguished heroism and courageous actions were in accordance with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.