The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Aviation Machinist’s Mate Airman Carl K. Nunez, United States Navy, for heroic conduct on the night of 9 January 1960 while serving with NRA VP-774. As a member of the regular flight crew of a patrol plane he participated in a routine training flight from U.S. Naval Air Station Los Alamitos. When both engines failed, necessitating a power-off night-ditching at sea, Petty Officer Nunez, despite five-foot breaking waves, succeeded in keeping one of the injured crew members afloat for more than an hour until the arrival of the rescue helicopter. Despite extreme exhaustion, he made a valiant but unsuccessful effort to hold the injured man while being hoisted from the water by helicopter.