The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Coast Guard Medal to Electronics Technician Second Class Richard W. Nieman, United States Coast Guard, for extraordinary heroism while serving as crewman of Boat 314, Disaster Response Unit 1, Commander, Coast Guard Forces St. Louis, from 19 to 20 April 1997. During this period, Disaster Response Unit 1 was dispatched to Grand Forks, North Dakota to assist in the evacuation of people stranded due to flooding. On 19 April at 1400, Boat 314 began evacuating homes and buildings in the area. Two hours later, Boat 314 approached an apartment building on fire in the central business district. Concerned that people were trapped inside, Petty Officer NIEMAN, disregarding his own safety, jumped from the boat to the fire escape and conducted a search of the dark, burning building. Petty Officer Nieman conducted door-to-door searches of the adjacent apartment buildings, evacuating people to fire escapes for pick up by Boat 314. During one particularly hazardous evacuation, Petty Officer Nieman faced difficulty in gaining building access. Rather than abandon his effort, Petty Officer Nieman once again disregarded his own safety by entering the swift, frigid waters to force open the partially submerged door to the building. Upon entry, Petty Officer Nieman located six elderly people in desperate need of assistance. After escorting four people to Boat 314, Petty Officer Nieman carried the two remaining people through the turbulent, debris-choked waters to the boat. As his search continued, the fire spread, engulfing the central business district. Petty Officer Nieman continued searching as debris and burning embers rained down, singing his hair and melting his survival suit. Upon securing the search at 0200 on 20 April, Petty Officer Nieman had searched dark, burning, and flooded buildings for 12 hours, saving the lives of 195 people. Petty Officer Nieman’s dedication and devotion to duty are most heartily commended and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.