The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Legion of Merit to Rear Admiral Joseph W. Leverton, Jr., United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Deputy Chief of Staff to Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet and the Atlantic Command from 8 October 1962 to 20 July 1964. Rear Admiral Leverton contributed valuable guidance and leadership to the staff in providing sound recommendations to the Commander in Chief for the effective utilization of assigned forces. During this period the Atlantic Command was engaged in a wide range of operations and exercises in support of national defense policies, including the planning and conduct of operations in the vicinity of Cuba, incident to the Soviet-sponsored build-up of offensive weapons; the conduct of continuous air surveillance of Cuba to detect deliberate reinstitution of those weapons; the conduct of continuous antisubmarine surveillance of the Atlantic Command ocean area; and the deployment of naval forces to Haiti and the Dominican Republic during periods of tension. Rear Admiral Leverton contributed in large measure to the success of these operations.