Thomas C. Doherty’s Silver Star citation
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the SILVER STAR MEDAL to
PLATOON SERGEANT THOMAS C. DOHERTY,
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE,
for service as set forth in the following
CITATION:
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as a Platoon Sergeant in Company D, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Cape Gloucester on 24 January 1944. In charge of a section of machine guns during a combat patrol to Natamo Point, Platoon Sergeant Doherty was quick to act when the patrol became pinned down under heavy machine-gun, mortar and sniper fire from a numerically superior and well-entrenched enemy force on the opposite bank of a small stream. Exposing himself to the intense hostile fire, he moved from one position to another across open ground to direct the fire of his machine guns. When one of the guns was hit by a mortar shell and thrown forward into the stream close to the enemy positions, Platoon Sergeant Doherty, although wounded by the burst of mortar fire, rushed out into the open, recovered the gun and put it back into action while his unit withdrew. By his outstanding courage and inspiring leadership, he contributed materially to the success of the mission. His gallant actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
For the President,
/s/ James Forrestal
Secretary of the Navy
Born: 12 May 1920 in Donegal, Ireland… Earned a battlefield commission, then served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars… Earned the Navy Cross for actions on the previous day, plus the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts… Served with the OSS in China… Briefly held as a POW by the Japanese… Parachuted into the South China Sea when his plane was shot down and rescued by an American ship… Retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel, then served with the CIA during the Bay of Pigs operation… Passed: 21 August 2007… Interred: South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, Fla.