The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Chief Machinist’s Mate John Urquhart, United States Navy, for heroic conduct when the destroyer in which he was serving was rammed during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. Chief Machinist’s Mate Urquhart crawled in darkness through steam, smoke and debris in order to reach deck-operated valves and isolate a damaged fireroom. Later he entered a flooded compartment and worked under water in extreme danger to supervise temporary repairs which were a decisive factor in saving the ship.