The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Lieutenant Charles L. Rowan, United States Navy, for heroic conduct in rescuing a man and wife from their smoke-filled home in Lexington Park, Maryland, on the night of 16 June 1964. Upon hearing cries of “Fire! Fire!,” at a nearby residence, Lieutenant Rowan raced to the scene and ascertaining that two people were trapped in an upstairs bedroom, entered the burning home through a rear entrance. Climbing the stairway to the second floor, he felt his way through the heat and smoke and succeeded in locating a fellow officer helpless on the floor. After dragging the man to safety, Lieutenant Rowan again ascended the stairway, moved through the smoke, located the man’s wife, and moved her to the lower landing where neighbors took her out of the house. By his prompt, courageous and determined actions in the face of grave personal risk, Lieutenant Rowan undoubtedly saved the lives of two persons.