The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Claude M. Seeley (MCSN: 349005), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Rifleman of Company C, First Battalion, Second Marines, SECOND Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Saipan, Mariana Islands, on 29 June 1944. When the left flank of his company was subjected to an intense night counterattack which caused many casualties, Private First Class Seeley skillfully organized remnants of several squads into one and, after assuming a strategic position, proceeded to expose himself to hostile machine-gun fire in order to direct the firing of his own newly organized squad, thereby contributing directly to his company’s maintaining their lines intact throughout the night. His courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.