The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Max W. Brotherton (MCSN: 834882), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Flame Thrower Operator of Company A, First Battalion, Ninth Marines, THIRD Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 27 February 1945. When his company was subjected to heavy enemy machine-gun fire during an attack against a strong hostile force entrenched in concrete pillboxes on commanding ground, Private First Class Brotherton courageously made his way toward the hostile position. Carrying his flame thrower, he crawled forward through intense enemy small-arms and hand-grenade fire and, although painfully wounded about the face, continued to advance until he reached a position approximately ten feet from the pillbox. Then firing his flame thrower into the opening, he succeeded in neutralizing the hostile position, thereby relieving the pressure on his company’s front and materially aiding the advance. His coolness under fire and devotion to the completion of his mission were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.