The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Seaman Apprentice Donald K. Bourguignon, United States Navy, for heroism on the afternoon of 20 October 1965 in connection with an automobile accident on U.S. highway 101 between Oceanside and Carlsbad, California. Upon learning that an automobile had plunged over an embankment into the murky waters of a large lagoon, Seaman Apprentice Bourguignon and a companion leaped from their car, ran down the bank and dived into the lagoon. After one unsuccessful attempt to locate any occupants of the vehicle, they dived beneath the surface a second time and located an elderly woman in the front seat of the wreckage. Surfacing with the unconscious victim, they brought her to the shore where a physician who had arrived on the scene revived her. Through his prompt and heroic actions in the face of great personal risk, Seaman Apprentice Bourguignon was directly instrumental in saving a life.