The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Gunnery Sergeant Hugh R. Shankey (MCSN: 1863529), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Marine Light Helicopter Squadron ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-SEVEN (HML-167), Marine Aircraft Group SIXTEEN (MAG-16), FIRST Marine Aircraft Wing, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On the night of 28 March 1971, Gunnery Sergeant Shankey launched as Night Observation Device Operator aboard a UH-1E Huey helicopter equipped with infrared and spotlight equipment and assigned the mission of supporting a company-sized defense force which was heavily engaged in combat with two North Vietnamese Army battalions in the village of Duc Duc, twenty miles southwest of DaNang. Most of the village was ablaze following a heavy enemy mortar barrage and sapper attack. The friendly force was isolated and surrounded in its defensive perimeter by a large hostile force which was preparing to assault and overrun the Vietnamese position. Arriving over the beleaguered village, Gunnery Sergeant Shankey, undaunted by the extremely heavy volume of hostile fire concentrated upon his aircraft each time he activated his spotlight, carefully selected groups of the enemy with his light, sometimes to within thirty meters of the perimeter wire, and boldly maintained his light focused on the North Vietnamese, while supporting Cobra gunships attacked the enemy positions. On one occasion, when his Huey came under intense heavy machine gun fire and his aircraft had to life into the low cloud cover to escape the tracking fire, Gunnery Sergeant Shankey quickly located the machine gun emplacement when his helicopter descended through the overcast, and immediately pinpointed its position with his light for attacks by the supporting aircraft which destroyed the emplacement. Throughout the engagement he resolutely ignored the North Vietnamese fire concentrated upon his spotlight as he expertly illuminated the enemy force for attacks by the gunships which repulsed the North Vietnamese assault and forced the hostile soldiers to withdraw completely disorganized. After his aircraft had refueled and returned to the embattled village, he located and illuminated six boats upon which the North Vietnamese were attempting to escape across a nearby river. The Cobras destroyed all six boats. While his aircraft was orbiting the area to seek out stragglers, Gunnery Sergeant Shankey was seriously wounded when the Huey was struck by hostile rounds and was immediately flown to the nearest medical facility. By his courage, superior professionalism, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, Gunnery Sergeant Shankey upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.