Issued: 1-Jan-1943, London Gazette
"In command of one of His Majesty's Canadian Destroyers (HMCS Ottawa) in the North Atlantic the late Acting Lieutenant-Commander Rutherford displayed outstanding zeal and wholehearted devotion to duty, worthy of the best traditions of the Royal Canadian Navy."
* Issued posthumously
Note: During the sinking of HMCS Ottawa, LCdr Rutherford gave his life belt to a rating who did not have one and was lost at sea.