The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private Mike J. Gates, Jr. (MCSN: 432610), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-third Marines, FOURTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on the Island of Saipan in the Marianas, on 19 June 1944. Observing an officer attempting to evacuate a wounded Marine during a bitter fire fight waged against deeply entrenched Japanese troops, Private Gates, realizing that the merciless concentration of enemy fire would render the evacuation impossible, unhesitatingly exposed himself to the enemy’s view in a valiant attempt to draw the hostile fire away from the others and upon himself and, delivering a steady stream of deadly bullets from his automatic weapon, effectively covered the rescue operation and succeeded in annihilating six of the enemy. By his daring initiative, indomitable fighting spirit and determined aggressiveness in the face of extreme peril, Private Gates contributed materially to the success of our operations against this vital Japanese stronghold, and his undaunted courage and decisive conduct on behalf of others upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.