The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Gunnery Sergeant Gleason Norris (MCSN: 1127120), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Company Gunnery Sergeant with Company M, Third Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines, THIRD Marine Division (Rein.), FMF, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 10 September 1967 in the vicinity of Con Thien, Company M was assaulted by elements of an estimated North Vietnamese Army Regiment. During the enemy assault, a mortar round landed dangerously close to Gunnery Sergeant Norris, painfully wounding him. As the enemy human wave attack spilled around the flank of the platoon in front of Gunnery Sergeant Norris, he courageously moved among the elements of the Company Command group, re-positioning Marines and directed their fire on the enemy forces. While fearlessly exposing himself to a heavy volume of direct enemy fire, he was again painfully wounded, by an enemy explosive device, and was blown literally off of his feet. This did not deter his valiant fighting spirit. With full knowledge of the risks involved, he continued to move up and down the line of Marines, shouting words of encouragement and firing his weapon while in full view of the enemy until wounded yet a third time. After being assisted to a MEDEVAC zone, he took charge of all the wounded and calmly integrated those Marines still able to fire a weapon into the defensive perimeter. Only after the threat of enemy ground attack had subsided did he permit medical personnel to attend to his numerous wounds. By his courage, bold initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, Gunnery Sergeant Norris reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.