The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Lieutenant Crowell C. Hall, III, United States Naval Reserve, for heroic conduct as Officer in Tactical Command of Motor Torpedo Boats ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE (PT-121) and THREE HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE (PT-353), on 21 March 1944. When two MTBs under his tactical command on patrol off New Britain were inadvertently attacked and sunk by friendly planes, Lieutenant Hall displayed commendable precedence of mind in attempting to contact the attacking planes by radio, ordering emergency recognition flares to be fired, preventing the men from firing on the planes, keeping the men together in the water and in supervising the care of the wounded. He was himself severely wounded.