The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Gunnery Sergeant Chester L. McNealy (MCSN: 286934), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Platoon Sergeant of Company G, Second Battalion, Twenty-fourth Marines, FOURTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 1 March 1945. Realizing that immediate action must be taken to prevent annihilation of his men by hostile machine-gun fire, Gunnery Sergeant McNealy led a squad of his platoon against a strongly-defended Japanese position located in jagged terrain in the vicinity of Hill 382. Unhesitatingly leaving a protected place, he called upon his squad to follow him and, charging directly into the enemy position, killed three of the crew and disrupted the coordination of the hostile fire. By his courage and initiative, he contributed materially to the capture of the enemy entrenchments and the safety of his comrades. His devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.