The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Private First Class Theodore O. Erickson (MCSN: 937639), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving as a Member of Company A, Eleventh Amphibian Tractor Battalion, Fifth Amphibious Corps, Fleet Marine Force, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on the night of 15 March 1945. While in a defensive position as part of a front line unit, Private First Class Erickson unhesitatingly stepped on an enemy grenade which was thrown into his shell hole, thereby causing the fragments to be deflected from his comrades. By his outstanding courage, Private First Class Erickson undoubtedly saved the lives of the other men in the shell hole, and his gallant action was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.