The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant Sidney Carl Beinke (MCSN: 0-19365), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Leader of a 37-mm. Gun Platoon attached to the Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu, Palau Group, 17 September 1944. Courageously setting up his guns in the open only two hundred yards from the entrenched enemy despite continuous exposure to withering hostile mortar and machine gun fire, First Lieutenant Beinke skillfully directed the firing and rendered vital aid to his battalion in its successful assault on the Japanese-held southwest peninsula. Subsequently knocked down and wounded by a mortar blast during a heavy enemy barrage while commanding a group of infantry on 3 October 1944, First Lieutenant Beinke after receiving treatment, valiantly attempted to return to the front and re-assume command but was mortally wounded by enemy sniper fire. His unwavering devotion to duty and exceptional courage in the face of peril were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.