The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal Wayne Mitchell Gentile (MCSN: 2322369), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Squad Leader with Company G, Second Battalion, First Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Rein.), FMF, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 4 March 1968, Corporal Gentile was a member of a reaction force that was moving to assist a patrol which was pinned down by a numerically superior North Vietnamese Army force near Con Thien. As the Marines approached the besieged unit, they suddenly came under small arms and automatic weapons fire. Reacting instantly, Corporal Gentile and a companion fearlessly assaulted a hostile machine gun emplacement, killing the North Vietnamese soldiers and silencing the enemy weapon. Disregarding his own safety, he continued to aggressively move forward and overran the hostile positions. In large measure due to his heroic actions and aggressive fighting spirit, he was instrumental in his unit accounting for eleven North Vietnamese soldiers confirmed killed and the seizure of numerous weapons. By his courage, bold initiative and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, Corporal Gentile contributed significantly to the accomplishment of his unit’s mission and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.