The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Platoon Sergeant Ralph W. McClendon (MCSN: 458619), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Platoon Sergeant of Company B, Fourth Tank Battalion, FOURTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 26 February 1945. When his tank was destroyed by heavy enemy antitank fire while crossing an airfield, Platoon Sergeant McClendon directed the evacuation of his crew in the face of intense hostile machine-gun fire and led them back to friendly lines. Noticing that one crew member was missing, he voluntarily returned to his destroyed vehicle and, finding the wounded man lying in front of the tank, picked him up and carried him through Japanese fire to the nearest aid station. His initiative, courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.