The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private First Class Jerome Higgins (MCSN: 2457197), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Rifleman with Company D, First Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 12 November 1969, Private First Class Higgins was a member of a platoon from Company D which was pinned down by fire from elements of a North Vietnamese Army battalion occupying a well-fortified bunker complex in the Que Son Mountain area of Quang Nam Province. Reacting instantly to the critical situation, he fearlessly maneuvered to the point of heaviest contacts and fired light antitank assault weapons at two machine gun emplacements, killing four hostile soldiers and silencing the fire from that sector. During the ensuing fierce engagement, Private First Class Higgins observed two wounded Marines fall in an open area which was being raked with intense enemy mortar and automatic weapons fire. Undaunted by the fusillade, he boldly darted into the hazardous area, pulled the casualties to a covered location, and then helped carry them to a landing zone for medical evacuation. Returning to the battle, he pinpointed a principal source of hostile fire and moving to a dangerously exposed vantage point, ignored the enemy rounds impacting all around him as he destroyed the position with a light antitank assault weapon. Private First Class Higgins was mortally wounded by sniper fire as he attempted to return to his unit’s defensive perimeter. By his courage, valiant initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty, Private First Class Higgins was instrumental in the subsequent defeat of the numerically superior North Vietnamese Army force and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.