In 1942 Puleston was asked by the US Government to join the Office of Scientific Research and Development . With his background in naval architecture he helped to develop the DUKW , commonly called " the duck " , the Army 's amphibious landing vehicle used in the Normandy landings and throughout the Mediterranean , and in the Pacific , including at Iwo Jima and Okinawa . Puleston was sent to the Pacific , where he trained American forces on the craft , and then organised a training school in its use for the British in India . He took part in amphibious operations in the Solomon Islands , New Guinea and latterly Burma , where he was badly wounded by shrapnel in a Japanese attack . After recuperating , he trained allied forces in Britain in preparation for the Normandy landings . He then returned to the Pacific to organise a DUKW training school on Oahu and take part in the invasion of Iwo Jima and Okinawa . In recognition of his work in designing the DUKW , he was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Harry S. Truman in 1948
Medal of Freedom
Medal of Freedom (1945)
Dennis Puleston