Commander Samuel B. Frankel, 37, of Stapleton, Staten Island, has been presented with the Distinguished Service Medal by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, at the latter’s office in the Navy Department, it was announced here today by the Army and Navy Committee of the Jewish Welfare Board. The citation accompanying the decoration lauds Commander Frankel for his “extraordinary initiative and tireless energy” in redeeming men and vessels.
The award for “exceptionally meritorious service” was bestowed on the Commander for his work as Assistant Naval Attache in Murmansk and Archangel, U.S.S.R., during the period from Nov. 1941 to Sept. 1942. “Under adverse conditions,” the laudatory citation to Commander Frankel reads, “he displayed extraordinary initiative and tireless energy in the direction of repairs to damaged United States vessels, in the salvaging of stranded and abandoned vessels, and in the supervision, rescue, hospitalization and repatriation of survivors of sunken vessels.”
Commander Frankel is further credited in the Navy citation with saving for future service in the war effort certain vessels which would otherwise have been lost. “His efficient execution of an extremely difficult task and his conscientious eviction to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service,” the commendation concludes.
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