The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private First Class Joseph Mitchell (MCSN: 231207), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Company F, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu, Palau Islands, 28 September 1944. When a determined enemy group infiltrated our thinly held lines along a coral ridge, overrunning one position and killing ten men, Private First Class Mitchell rallied the men around him who thought the enemy had broken through in force and isolated their section, which would have endangered the lives of our men and left a serious gap in our lines. By his cool courage and resolute determination, he contributed materially to the destruction of most of the infiltrating enemy troops during the all-night grenade battle which followed, and his devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.