The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Jessie A. Gardner (MCSN: 488608), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Company B, Fourth Tank Battalion, FOURTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 15 June 1944. Courageously volunteering his weight to help correct a dangerous list on a landing craft loaded with a tank, Private First Class Gardner exposed himself to heavy hostile artillery fire falling the craft and the beach. Fearless and determined, he sat at his position post instead of seeking the shelter of the hull, and was seriously wounded when a enemy shell hit the craft. His self-sacrificing efforts and gallant devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of The United States Naval Service.