THE LEGION OF MERIT
Shortly after we exit from the North Pole, the Captain is picked by a military helicopter off the coast of Greenland and flown to Wahington, D.C. where he is awarded the Legion Of Merit for this first succesfull trans-polar voyage. The crew of Nautilus is awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the first time it is ever given for a peacetime mission.
Notice in the photograph that Rickover is conspicuously missing from the VIPs assembled
Our Executive Officer, Frank Adams, assumes command when the Captain leaves, and steers us for Portland, England, where the Captain will rejoin the boat as we enter the harbor