The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Gunnery Sergeant Mark P. Fennessy (MCSN: 296707), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as Acting First Sergeant of Battery H, Third Battalion, Eleventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu, Palau Islands, 16 September 1944. Although wounded while under heavy enemy mortar and artillery fire that had set one of the ammunition dumps on fire, Gunnery Sergeant Fennessy courageously directed and aided in the evacuation of several wounded men who were being subjected to hostile artillery fire and exploding ammunition, refusing medical treatment for himself until all others had been removed to safety. His initiative and unselfish concern for the lives of others were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.