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Show HanksviNe Sailor Gets Commendation Jessie G. Ekker. Boatswain's Boats-wain's Mate third class. TJ. S. Xaw, son of Mr. and Mrs. Horace Ekker of Hanksville. was awarded the Navy Achievement Me-day Me-day in ceremonies at th Reserve Training Facility in Provo last Friday. Ekker has been cited In- Vice Admiral J. II. Kincr Jr.. Commander, U. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam, for professional achievement achieve-ment "while serving- with friendly foreign forces engaged en-gaged in armed conflict apainst the North Vietnamese Viet-namese and Viet- Con? communist aggressors in the Republic of Vietnam from March 19G9 to March 1970. While serving as a coxswain coxs-wain on a river assult craft attached to River Assult As-sult Division 131, Petty Officer Ekker participated in two hundred and eleven combat patrols, and, engaged en-gaged the enemy on nine separate occasions. During those patrols, he boarded and searched junks and sanpans, interdicted cross river traffic, enforced curfew, cur-few, inserted and extracted extract-ed friendly forces ni hostile hos-tile territory and provided fire support for beseiged units and outposts. His technical knowledge and long hours of bard work during a particularly strenuous stre-nuous period on operation Breeze Cove were directly responsible for the constant con-stant state of readiness of his river assault craft, according ac-cording to the award presentation. pre-sentation. In June 196'), the awards continued, duiv ing a routine troop insertion, inser-tion, his craft suddenly came under heavy automatic auto-matic weapons fire. Reacting React-ing immediately, he maneuvered man-euvered his craft to th designated landing site from where his troops would embark and engage' the enemy. Petty Officer Ekker's professionalism, initiative and devotion to dutv were in keeping wth the highest traditon of the U. S. Naval Servce. concluded con-cluded the presentation. Lt. Comander Donald J. Liddle. commanding officer offi-cer of the Naval and Marine Mar-ine Corps Reserve Training Train-ing Center, Salt Lake City presented the medal on behalf of Rear Admiral A. K. Mailer, Commandant of the llilh Naval District. Attending tlx; ceremonies ceremon-ies which terminated Kicker's Kic-ker's active duty assignment, assign-ment, wore Mr. and Mrs. Horace Ekker, Miss Carol Trouth and Mr. and Mrs. Roy Ekker. |