The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Robert John Gleason (MCSN: 1525006), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Platoon Guide with Company M, Third Battalion, First Marines, in connection with operations against insurgent communist (Viet Cong) forces in the Republic of Vietnam. On 21 March 1966, during Operation TEXAS, Sergeant Gleason and his squad were engaged in securing a helicopter landing zone in Quang Ngai Province when one of the participating aircraft experienced mechanical difficulties and crashed in flames in a rice paddy. By the time Sergeant Gleason and his men reached the scene, the helicopter was a blazing inferno. Hand grenades and machine gun and rifle ammunition were exploding, and the immediate area was showered by molten metal from the burning magnesium rotor blades. Observing that the pilot was half way out of the cockpit and struggling to escape from the blazing wreckage, Sergeant Gleason and another man immediately raced to his aid, completely disregarding the intense heat and danger from the exploding ammunition. Although he was painfully burned and temporarily blinded when the rotor blades exploded, Sergeant Gleason persisted in his effort and sought cover only when the stricken pilot had been removed to a safe area. By his extraordinary courage in the face of extreme danger, coupled with bold initiative, Sergeant Gleason upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.