The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Raymond William Bobak (MCSN: 2479097), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a machine gunner with Company C, First Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. In the early morning hours of 12 August 1969, Company C was occupying a defensive position near the village of Nam An (5) in Quang Nam Province when Private First Class Bobak alertly detected a platoon-sized North Vietnamese Army unit attempting to cut through the perimeter wire and immediately took the enemy under fire. When the hostile soldiers responded with a heavy volume of small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire, he resolutely continued to fire at the advancing enemy until he was knocked to the ground by a hostile grenade. Completely disregarding his own safety, he fearlessly returned to his weapon, resumed delivering fire, and was again knocked to the ground by the concussion of a rocket-propelled grenade round which impacted nearby. Ignoring the hostile fire, he dauntlessly returned to his machine gun a second time and killed a North Vietnamese soldier approximately ten meters from his position before the machine gun was destroyed by the impact of yet another rocket-propelled grenade. While continuing to battle the enemy, utilizing his M-16 rifle, he observed his wounded Platoon Sergeant attempting to crawl out of an open area, and provided suppressive fire which enabled the casualty to reach a covered position. By his courage, aggressive fighting spirit and steadfast devotion to duty at great personal risk, Private First Class Bobak upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.