Harry Bean Jarrett

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Harry Bean Jarrett, Commander, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. MORRIS (DD-417), during the Battle of the Coral Sea and during the rescue of survivors from the U.S.S. LEXINGTON on 8 May 1942. In constant danger of subsequent attacks by enemy Japanese aircraft and at a time when the LEXINGTON was being shaken by violent explosions and gutted by raging fires, Commander Jarrett, in courageous disregard for his own personal safety, placed his ship alongside the stricken aircraft carrier and took aboard a considerable portion of its crew. His initiative and leadership in a perilous emergency contributed materially to the reduction of casualties and to the rescue of many survivors who might otherwise have perished. Commander Jarrett’s conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.

Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 311 (February 1943)