Transcription
"Posthumous award of the Navy and Marine Corps Medal was made yesterday to Lieutenant Burtis P. Cone, USCG, of 3902 Seminary Ave., by direction of Secretary of the Navy Forrestal, for the President. The citation reveals that Lieutenant Cone, executive officer of the USS Leopold, when that vessel was sunk in the Atlantic on March 9, 1944, sacrificed his life for the sake of others.
Official presentation was made to Lieutenant Cone's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Burtis O. Cone, in Richmond, by Lieutenant James B. Denny, representing Commodore Gordon T. Finlay, district Coast Guard officer. Lieutenant Denny was a close friend of Lieutenant Cone and served with him at several stations.
The citation, signed by Secretary Forrestal set forth:
"For heroic conduct as executive officer of the USS Leopold when that vessel was sunk in the Atlantic on March 9, 1944. Unmindful of his own danger and refusing to save himself while members of the crew were still in danger, Lieutenant Cone worked desperately to assist his companions during rescue operations and remained in the water with them when an enemy vessel forced the rescue ship to retire from the scene. His exceptional loyalty and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States naval service."
In a letter to the parents of the deceased Coast Guard officer, Vice-Admiral R. R. Waesche, Coast Guard commandant, recognized the heroic courage of Lieutenant Cone and said, "His supreme courage reflected the true spirit of the Coast Guard and naval service."
Loss of the destroyer escort Leopold in the Atlantic was announced by the Navy Department March 21. Only 28 of the crew survived, it was reported late.
Lieutenant Cone had been commissioned in the Coast Guard May 2, 1941, after serving in the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Richmond for many years. Her served aboard a cutter on North Atlantic patrol until December 1942, then was transferred to the District Coast Guard Office in Norfolk. In September, 1943, he was reassigned to sea duty aboard the Leopold.Language
English