The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Walter E. Sandy (MCSN: 272200), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Platoon Sergeant of the Sixth Tank Battalion, SIXTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands on 7 June 1945. When one of the tanks of his group was damaged by an enemy mine approximately 700 yards in front of friendly lines, blocking the movement of other tanks, Sergeant Sandy dismounted in the face of continuous enemy mortar and small-arms fire to look for an avenue of egress. When his tank bogged down in a water-filled shell hole after he located a route, he again dismounted and undertook the shackling necessary to extricate his tank. Although wounded by a mortar fragment, Sergeant Sandy withdrew his tank into a position from which he was able to cover with fire and smoke the evacuation of the crew of the disabled vehicle, completing the evacuation without the loss of a single man despite heavy enemy fire. By his courage in the face of hostile fire, he saved his tank at a time when it was sorely needed, and his unwavering devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.