The Department of the Navy is upgrading a Vietnam War-era Marine’s award for valor. Sgt. Kenneth Altazan, of Baton Rouge, La., received a Silver Star medal for evacuating fellow Marines from a fight in Vietnam’s Quang Nam province in May 1969. With the upgrade, Altazan now holds the Navy Cross – the service’s second-highest award for heroism in combat. Altazan was crew chief on a C-46 helicopter at the time, serving with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Stars and Stripes reported Oct. 16. He helped pull 10 wounded comrades onto the helicopter, braving heavy enemy fire in the process. The upgrade was approved years later after a pilot who had witnessed it came forward with a recording of the entire operation.