The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal Hugh D. Farwell (MCSN: 482664), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as Leader of a Machine Gun Squad in Company H, Third Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 22 February 1945. With his company suffering heavy losses in the ranks and contact between units seriously disrupted during a furious morning battle against the enemy, Corporal Farwell received orders to relieve a front line unit and, maneuvering his squad to a forward position under the terrific barrage laid down by the Japanese, came upon a second machine-gun squad whose leader had been killed. Immediately reorganizing the remaining men and consolidating them with his own squad, he proceeded alone to a fire-swept sector of a ridge to determine the best possible method of attack. Placing his weapon in strategic firing positions, he directed the deadly fire of his section throughout the remainder of the day, providing the only supporting fire for the entire company front for a minimum of forty-five minutes until other weapons could reach the forward area. By his daring leadership, outstanding fortitude and aggressive determination in the face of tremendous odds, Corporal Farwell contributed materially to the success of his company’s mission, and his inspiring devotion to duty throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.