The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Commander Charles H. Crichton, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States while commanding a destroyer during World War II. Commander Crichton established contact with a Japanese submarine and skillfully dropped a depth-charge pattern which probably inflicted serious damage to the submarine. In conjunction with another vessel, he so coordinated the action as to probably destroy the enemy vessel.