The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private First Class Ralph Owen Bolles (MCSN: 306723), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with the Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, during combat with enemy Japanese forces on Cape Gloucester, New Britain, on 3 January 1944. Braving intense enemy machine gun, rifle and mortar fire in the heat of a raging battle, Private First Class Bolles skillfully assisted in bringing a 75-mm. gun to bear upon six hostile pillboxes. Despite semi-darkness and dense jungle undergrowth, he helped members of the gun crew to distinguish vital hostile targets, contributing materially to the subsequent destruction of the enemy emplacements and making possible the advance of his battalion. Private First Class Bolles’ aggressive fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.