The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Coast Guard Medal to Chief Quartermaster Thomas H. Henning, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary heroism in his response to a fireworks explosion on the night of 26 July 1997. During the fireworks display at the Venetian Festival in Charlevoix, Michigan, an explosion occurred, propelling pieces of the launching trailer over a distance of 1200 feet, narrowly missing chief Petty Officer Henning and his family. The shards of the metal caused numerous injuries, including one fatality and several amputations. Chief Petty Officer Henning acted quickly to safeguard his family, then immediately began attending victims. While fireworks continued to ignite, he remained in harm’s way, rendering first aid to two of the most seriously wounded victims. Chief Petty Officer Henning quickly assisted a double amputee victim by applying a tourniquet to the arm, continuing to attend to the victim until he was relieved by a doctor. Chief Petty Officer Henning then aided another injured man who was bleeding profusely from a laceration to his side abdominal area. He escorted the injured man to an ambulance where he proceeded to control the bleeding with a dressing and began treating the victim for shock. Chief Petty Officer Henning stayed with the injured man until emergency medical personnel could take over. He is credited with saving the lives of at least two people. Chief Petty Officer Henning continued to assist the local authorities by helping with crowd control and cleanup efforts. Instrumental in the fast, efficient reaction to this tragedy, Chief Petty Officer Henning is to be commended. He unselfishly placed his own life in danger to render lifesaving aid to others. Chief Petty Officer Henning demonstrated remarkable initiative, exceptional fortitude, and daring in spite of imminent personal danger in responding to this tragic accident. His courage and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.