The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Lieutenant Lessley G. Pinkerton, United States Naval Reserve, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as naval gunfire liaison officer of the 36th U.S. Infantry Division during the invasion of Italy in 1944. Lieutenant Pinkerton directed accurate and timely shore bombardments with courageous initiative and untiring effort, repulsing numerous enemy counterattacks and destroying important hostile targets prior to the landing of sufficient field artillery reinforcements.