The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal Jean E. Bartels (MCSN: 923681), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Machine Gunner of Company D, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on the night of 27 November 1950. When an enemy soldier opened fire on him at point blank range while he was unloading ammunition for his gun on the company’s perimeter defense position during an intense hostile attack, Corporal Bartels rolled down a hill toward the enemy and, while bayoneting his attacker, was assaulted by a second hostile soldier with an entrenching tool. Despite severe wounds sustained during the ensuing hand-to-hand struggle, he bayoneted the second enemy soldier and returned to his gun position, continuing to keep the weapon in action throughout the remainder of the night. Although suffering intense pain as a result of his wounds, he courageously delivered a tremendous volume of deadly accurate fire upon the hostile troops, accounting for approximately seventy-five enemy dead and one hundred wounded, thereby contributing greatly to the defense of the position. By his gallant fighting spirit, indomitable fortitude and unswerving devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds, Corporal Bartels served to inspire all who observed him and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.