Meritorious Service Medal
- Awarded on: June 11, 2002
- Invested on: September 27, 2002
Rank: Lieutenant(N)
On the night of 10 April 2000, Lieutenant Lawton was serving as the Diving Officer in Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship FREDERICTON when the ship was detached from her normal duty with the Standing Naval Force Atlantic to conduct a search and rescue operation. Lieutenant Lawton volunteered for the mission and boarded the ship’s helicopter under dangerous weather and operating conditions. Once the missing sailing vessel ANNA V. was located, Lieutenant Lawton jumped from the helicopter, alone and without air tanks, into unfamiliar pitch-black waters. Upon hitting the surface, his diving mask was smashed, hampering his vision in the high seas and spray. Undeterred, Lieutenant Lawton carried out a thorough but vain search for the master of the overturned sailing vessel. Exhausted, he was forced back to the ship by the heavy seas and the large amount of debris surrounding the wreckage. Lieutenant Lawton’s professionalism and determination brought great credit to himself and the Canadian Forces.
