(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: Seaman First Class William Epp Smith, United States Coast Guard, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroic conduct while serving aboard a destroyer escort during the rescue of survivors of the torpedoed U.S.S. LEOPOLD in the North Atlantic on the night of 9 March 1944. Courageously volunteering to aid in rescue activities, Seaman First Class Smith went over the side into icy, oil-covered waters and working with utter disregard for personal safety secured life lines around the exhausted survivors until he himself was completely exhausted and unable to continue his battle against the rough seas.