The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Rear Admiral William Selman Guest, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States as Commander Task Force 65 during the period 23 January to 12 April 1966. Assuming command of a force of ships whose mission was to conduct coordinated surface and subsurface operations in the vicinity of Palomares, Spain, in order to recover wreckage and debris, including a nuclear weapon, which had fallen into the Mediterranean Sea, following a collision between two U.S. Air Force aircraft, Rear Admiral Guest commenced search operations with the limited forces and personnel initially available to him, later integrating the activities of an augmented and extremely varied force which included specialized diving, research and navigation equipment. He contributed in large measure to the success of the task force in locating and recovering the lost nuclear weapon from the ocean floor and in returning the whole search area to its original condition.