The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Private First Class Hugh J. Boylan (MCSN: 372357), United States Marine Corps, for heroic conduct while serving with the a Service and Supply Company, First Service Battalion, FIRST Marine Division, in effecting the rescue of the pilots and crew members of a U.S. Army heavy bomber. Private First Class Boylan, when a U.S. Army Bomber over-shot the Cape Gloucester air strip and crashed into a nearby gully in the early morning hours of 1 March 1944, hastily proceeded from his bivouac area located approximately one mile from the air strip and was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the accident. High octane gas covered the immediate area, and the ignition switch was inaccessible, creating a constant hazard of a major explosion and fire. With utter disregard for his own personal safety he began to extricate the dead and critically injured members of the crew who were thrown clear of the plane or pinned in the wreckage. Two of the members of the crew were pinned face-down in a bog beneath the plane and were saved from drowning only by the speedy rescue work in which he participated. After assisting in administering first aid, he served as stretcher bearer to carry the dead and injured to ambulances. Through his work and the work of the other rescuers, valuable records were found in the wreckage and turned over to the Army Air Force. His extreme valor and unselfish devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.