The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Kenneth S. Modglin (MCSN: 459198), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Rifleman of Company G, Third Battalion, Twenty-sixth Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 26 February 1945. Observing that his Squad Leader and Assistant Squad Leader had been hit when the rest of his platoon was pinned down by a hidden hostile machine gun, Private First Class Modglin exposed himself to the enemy fire to determine its source. After locating the Japanese weapon, he worked himself around to a position from which he could deliver fire into the emplacement, thereby enabling his squad to move to a more favorable location. He then single-handedly attacked the hostile machine gun with grenades and accurate rifle fire, killing four of the Japanese inside the emplacement. His initiative, courage and unselfish devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.