A Marine who served in the Vietnam War was recently awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the war, according to a feature on the Navy Times.

Former Lance Cpl. Ned Seath received the Navy Cross, the service’s second-highest award for valor, from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus during a ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Friday. In addition, a long-overdue award that was approved in the 60s but was never presented to Seath was also given to him: the Bronze Star with “V”.

Seath’s comrades in the Marines pushed for his being recognized for his actions during the war. Among them is William “Bill” Hutton, currently the senior vice commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Hutton believed that the Purple Heart that Seath received for his actions on the night of July 16, 1966 did not do his heroism and courage justice.

Hutton shared: “Had it not been for Ned Seath getting that machine gun started, there is no doubt in my mind we would have been overrun… By the time he had it assembled, they were on top of our fighting holes. … His heroism saved our company from being annihilated.” Hutton said further: “Had it not been for Ned Seath, I would have been interred at Arlington with the inscription, ‘William R Hutton, born 4 July 1947, KIA Vietnam, 16 July 1966.’”

Secretary Mabus said that Seath’s actions saved the lives of men who went on to have children and grandchildren, and said that “there is no greater legacy than that.”