The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private John Anthony O’Leary, Jr. (MCSN: 564843), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a runner in a platoon of Company I, Third Battalion, Twenty-ninth Marines, SIXTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 16 May 1945. With the organization of his platoon weakened when the leader and all non-commissioned officers were struck down and additional heavy casualties sustained during the attack on heavily defended enemy positions, Private O’Leary assumed command and, boldly moving among his comrades despite the tremendous volume of hostile fire, reinvigorated the unit as an effective fighting force. Determined to smash all resistance, he led his fellow Marines with skill and courage in the seizure and occupation of the objective, effecting the annihilation of approximately ninety Japanese and the capture of enemy machine and anti-tank guns. Holding indomitably against two hostile counterattacks which followed, Private O’Leary continued to direct and encourage his men, and to evacuate the wounded from the field of combat as he waged a furious battle which resulted in the final repulsion of the counterattacks with heavy casualties inflicted upon the enemy. Struck down during the last stages of the action, Private O’Leary, by his unfaltering leadership and bold combat tactics in the face of savage opposition, had contributed essentially to the success of the company’s operations against this vital outpost of the Japanese Empire, and his sustained fighting spirit throughout a critical situation upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.