The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal (Posthumously) to Chief Machinist Carl Newton Sears (NSN: 310116), United States Navy, for heroic conduct during the sinking of one of the pontoons of a floating dry dock at an advanced naval base in the South Pacific Area on 2 November 1943. Chief Machinist Sears procured wooden plugs after all men had been ordered from the engine and pump rooms and returned to the living compartments in an attempt to seal the leaks in the ventilating system. Determined to check the flooding, he persisted in his hazardous task, sacrificing his life in his efforts to prevent the vessel from sinking.