The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant (MC) John H. Peterson, United States Naval Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as Medical Officer on board the Destroyer U.S.S. HAMMANN (DD-412), during and after action against enemy Japanese forces in the vicinity of Midway Islands, on 6 June 1942. Although he had been struck down and slightly injured by the shock of a torpedo explosion, Lieutenant Peterson, after abandonment of the sinking ship, persisted in manning a boat and directing the rescue of many seriously wounded men who might otherwise have drowned. For three days afterward he rendered constant medical attention to a great number of wounded and injured men aboard another destroyer en route to its base until the strenuous exertion from his efforts weakened him to a point of complete physical exhaustion. Lieutenant Peterson’s gallant action and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.