The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Lieutenant Commander Richard B. Walls, United States Navy, for heroism as Pilot of an A-3d Battalion aircraft in Attack Carrier Air Wing 16, operating from U.S.S. ORISKANY (CVA-34), on 25 May 1965. When his aircraft crashed into the sea following a catapult launch failure, Lieutenant Commander Walls, though he sustained several severe lacerations and a compound fracture of one leg, immediately rendered assistance to his passenger, who was on his first ride in a carrier-launched jet. Grasping his fellow victim and thrusting him out of the submerged aircraft, Lieutenant Commander Walls continued his assistance upon reaching the surface of the water by inflating the struggling passenger’s life vest, loosening his oxygen mask and attaching him to the helicopter rescue hoist. His prompt action saved a life.