The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Second Lieutenant Charles S. McCumby (MCSN: 0-32947), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Commanding Officer of Company H, Third Battalion, Twenty-seventh Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 15 March 1945. Boldly leading his men in a fierce assault, Second Lieutenant McCumby participated in an attack against an enemy force defending from pillboxes, caves and spider traps. When his company’s advance was temporarily held up at the crest of a ridge by hostile automatic fire covering the only route to the bottom, he advanced to the head of one of his forward platoons and, braving heavy Japanese machine-gun fire, led his men down the face of the cliff. Directing his platoon in knocking out the enemy gun positions, he enabled the remainder of the company to descend from the top of the ridge and continue the attack. His courage and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Second Lieutenant McCumby and the United States Naval Service.