The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Lieutenant Commander Leslie D. Kelly, Jr., United States Navy, for heroism at the risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy while serving on board U.S.S. TRITON (SSR(N)-586), then under construction at the Electric Boat Division, Groton, Connecticut, on 2 October 1958. When a valve failed in the main, high-pressure steam line, filling the reactor compartment with extremely hot and blinding steam, Lieutenant Commander Kelly, after giving the order to secure the pumps and clear the compartment, followed his men through the watertight door into the safety of the next compartment. Upon learning that one of his men was missing, he immediately re-entered the area, and succeeded in locating and assisting the missing man to safety.