The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant Wayne R. Cleven (MCSN: 0-100125), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Headquarters Battery, Twelfth Marines, THIRD Marine Division, in connection with operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 5 May 1968, First Lieutenant Cleven launched as Aerial Observer aboard an observation aircraft assigned to support a Marine unit that was heavily engaged with a large North Vietnamese Army force near Dong Ha Combat Base. Arriving over the designated area, he observed approximately 300 enemy soldiers counterattacking the Marines and immediately commenced adjusting artillery fire upon the advancing enemy. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he skillfully directed the simultaneous fire of four batteries while providing the ground unit with vital information concerning the enemy’s movement. As air strikes were conducted against the hostile force, he effectively shifted the artillery fires to provide the Marines with maximum support. When he subsequently observed numerous wounded Marines who were pinned down and isolated from their unit by intense automatic weapons fire from a nearby village, First Lieutenant Cleven calmly assisted the pilot in determining the exact location and number of casualties during repeated low-level passes through the intense enemy fire. When medical evacuation helicopters approached the area, he directed mortar fire upon the hostile emplacements with devastating effectiveness and, as the pilot conducted several low-altitude runs, he ignored the hostile fire directed at his aircraft while marking the positions of the wounded with smoke grenades. After the injured men were extracted, he skillfully adjusted supporting arms fire on approximately sixty fleeing North Vietnamese soldiers until his aircraft’s engine was suddenly struck by an enemy round, forcing him to return to Dong Ha. His bold initiative and aggressive fighting spirit inspired all who observed him and were instrumental in 305 North Vietnamese soldiers being killed. By his courage, extraordinary professional ability and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger. First Lieutenant Cleven upheld the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.