Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Navy and Marine Corps Medal

    Service:

    United States Navy

    Rank:

    Lieutenant, Junior Grade

    Action Date:

    January 1943

    The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Leo R. Brown, United States Navy, for heroism while undertaking salvage operations in Algiers, Algeria, in January 1943. During the course of salvage operations on a U.S. Naval ship which was stranded, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Brown, conducting an underwater examination of the ship’s hull, was preparing to send a diver below to report conditions when the diving boat was swamped by the sea and sank. Acting with great coolness and with complete disregard for his own safety, he promptly went to the rescue of the diver, freed him from the boat and brought him to the surface, thereby saving the life of the drowning man at great risk to himself. The extraordinary courage, prompt and decisive action, and outstanding devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Brown were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.