The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Corporal [then Lance Corporal] Billy E. Bennett, United States Marine Corps, for heroism while serving at Marine Corps Base, Twentynine Palms, California, on 2 August 1978. Corporal Bennett was a 1st Mechanic on a CH-53 that violently crashed in the desert. Upon impact, the cabin section was crushed and fire erupted immediately, but Corporal Bennett was able to escape the burning aircraft through an aft window. Although he had sustained painful neck injuries in the crash, he made his way forward to aid his fellow crewmembers. With complete disregard for his own safety and fully aware of the personal dangers involved, Corporal Bennett assisted the pilot in recovering the incapacitated copilot from the cockpit just moments before it became engulfed in flames. Corporal Bennett’s prompt and courageous action in the face of imminent danger in saving a fellow Marine reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.