The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Louis Vestal Brooks (MCSN: 0-11093), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of Company A, First Battalion, Second Marines, SECOND Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 8 July 1944. During operations in which his company was attacking the northwest beach, Captain Brooks secured the assistance of two Marines and courageously worked his way over a twenty-foot cliff to the shoreline below and successfully completed a detailed reconnaissance of the area. Upon discovering a large concentration of the enemy directly beneath the cliff, he, with the help of one of his men, annihilated more than twenty-five of the Japanese within a few minutes. Skillfully organizing a group of men, he personally led a mopping-up attack and, while directing a flame thrower against a cave occupied by numerous Japanese, suffered serious wounds from an enemy grenade explosion. His outstanding courage, leadership and unwavering devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.