The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Seaman Apprentice Hal Wilson, United States Navy, for heroism at the risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy while serving aboard the U.S.S. LEONDARD D. MASON (DD-852), while that destroyer was at anchor in Zamboanga Harbor, Mindanao, Philippine Islands on 19 October 1949. On that date Seaman Archie L. McCall fell overboard. On deck at the time, Seaman Apprentice Hall Wilson peeled off his jumper and dived over the side. Reaching the struggling man, he attempted to swim back to the ladder or to a life ring, which Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Alexander had thrown overboard. Unable to reach either in the strong current, Seaman Apprentice Wilson managed to keep Seaman McCall afloat. After watching his comrade and seeing that Seaman Apprentice Wilson was in danger of being pulled under by the frantic struggling of the victim and that a third comrade who had joined in the rescue was losing his strength in battling the current, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Alexander turned over the line he had been tending to another man on board and dived in. He managed to separate Wilson and McCall, as a whaleboat arrived. McCall, without Wilson’s support, disappeared below the surface and, realizing this, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Alexander took a quick surface dive, groping blindly in the water for the drowning man. Ten feet down he reached him and pulled him to the surface. When McCall was safely in the whaleboat, Alexander climbed on board. By this time the third rescuer was rapidly weakening in his struggle against the extremely strong current, and was being swept past the stern of the destroyer. Alexander then took the tiller of the whaleboat and expertly maneuvered it to the stern of the ship, enabling the crew to reach down and pull the last man on board.