Thomas R. Cleary Jr.’s Silver Star citation

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the SILVER STAR MEDAL posthumously to

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS THOMAS R. CLEARY, JR.,
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS,

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as Gunner of a Machine Gun Squad of Company D, First Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces in the vicinity of Hill 150, Cape Gloucester, New Britain, 10 January 1944. Volunteering to assist as rifleman in Company C during an assault against a strongly fortified Japanese position well concealed in dense and hilly country, Private First Class Cleary unhesitatingly braved the relentless fury of an enemy machine gun which was inflicting many casualties among our own men and, hurling his hand grenade with aggressive determination, destroyed the gun and its entire crew. Although mortally wounded near the edge of the hostile emplacement, Private First Class Cleary, by his courage, indomitable fighting spirit and unfaltering devotion to duty in the face of tremendous odds, had contributed to the ultimate success of the attack and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.”

For the President,
/s/ James Forrestal

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Born: 9 September 1920 in Bridgeport, Conn…. Home of record: Pound Ridge, N.Y…. Enlisted in the Marine Corps three weeks after Pearl Harbor… Interred: Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, N.Y.