The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Preston E. Howell (MCSN: 485284), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Member of a Patrol of the Reconnaissance Company, Headquarters Battalion, SECOND Marine Division in action against enemy Japanese forces on Saipan, Mariana Islands on 13 July 1944. When his patrol was driven to cover by hostile hand grenades while making its way up a wooded hill, Private First Class Howell advanced to the summit of the hill in the face of Japanese fire and, by killing enough of the enemy to allow the patrol to advance, saved his comrades from a situation that might have meant certain destruction. His courage and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Private First Class Howell and the Unites States Naval Service.