The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Surveyor Second Class Raymond F. Cormier, Jr., United States Navy, for heroic conduct on 1 and 2 March 1960 as a member of the initial rescue unit team from Naval Activities, Port Lyautey, Kenitra, Morocco, at the time of the Agadir, Morocco earthquake disaster. During the hours of darkness with additional earth tremors reported imminent, the team tunneled into the torn and twisted masonry of the fallen building completely out of sight of their fellow workers. With the aid of a flashlight, in spaces barely large enough for a single person, each chiseled the reinforced concrete with wrecking bars and removed the debris. They persisted in their efforts until they succeeded in effecting the safe removal of victims who had been entombed in the wreckage for 24 hours.