The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Vincent T. Quinn, United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy on Ie Shima in the Pacific Theater of Operations, on 17 April 1945. As a rifle squad leader in Company A, Staff Sergeant Quinn led his unit in an assault on a heavily fortified coral ridge, honeycombed with caves, dugouts, and tombs. The enemy directed a heavy volume of machine gun and small arms fire at the American from their protected positions. Staff Sergeant Quinn deployed the squad and ordered the unit to cover him and then, with two other men, advanced toward the enemy under intense fire. The three men destroyed the enemy in two pillboxes. Staff Sergeant Quinn placed a charge in the mouth of a cave and a Japanese soldier ran out and tossed a satchel charge at him. When it exploded it set off two land mines, but Staff Sergeant Quinn dodged behind a rock and escaped injury. He killed the enemy soldier and continued sealing caves. He and the squad killed seven enemy, destroyed a heavy machine gun, and an undetermined number of Japanese soldiers were buried in caves, eliminating these bad sources of enemy fire. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Staff Sergeant Quinn, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.