The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal Joseph H. Brooks (MCSN: 332622), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as driver of an Amphibian Tractor of the First Amphibian Tractor Battalion, First Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu, Palau Islands, on 18 September 1944. Engaged in transporting supplies to a Marine Infantry Battalion, Corporal Brooks observed a gunboat explode and sink in the waters between Peleliu and an adjacent island. Aware that the intervening beach and sea were well mined and had not been previously traversed by vehicle or boat, he unhesitatingly exposed himself to intense mortar and small-arms fire and drove his vehicle, on his own initiative, through the mined area to the scene of the shipwreck. Aided by another Marine, he rescued eight injured and exhausted seamen. His resourcefulness, courage, and initiative in voluntarily risking his life to save others reflect great credit on Corporal Brooks and the United States Naval Service.