The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Gerald Vernand Young (MCSN: 2156516), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Company A, First Reconnaissance Battalion, FIRST Marine Division in connection with operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 17 October 1967, Sergeant Young was a Team Leader with a nineteen-man reconnaissance patrol which was ambushed by a numerically superior force of North Vietnamese Army Regulars in the vicinity of DaNang. Reacting instantly, Sergeant Young aggressively led his men in an attack against the hostile positions and, as he advanced with his unit, personally killed an enemy soldier. Increasingly heavy enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire repulsed the attack and, while Sergeant Young delivered suppressive fire to support the movement, the Marines withdrew to more defensible positions. Observing that his patrol leader and another Marine were seriously wounded and lying in an area dangerously exposed to the enemy fire, Sergeant Young disregarded his own safety and moved the injured men to the relative safety of the patrol’s defensive perimeter. Although wounded in the right shoulder by enemy hand grenade fragments, he ignored his painful injuries and skillfully directed his team’s fire against the hostile force. During the fire fight, the patrol became separated into two groups and, when his assistant patrol leader was subsequently wounded; Sergeant Young unhesitatingly assumed command of one of the isolated groups and quickly consolidated his positions with the remainder of the patrol. Fearlessly moving across the fire-swept terrain from one position to another along the defensive perimeter, he encouraged his men and pinpointed hostile targets for them. Upon the arrival of a medical evacuation helicopter, Sergeant Young supervised the embarkation of casualties aboard the aircraft but steadfastly refused evacuation for himself, electing to retain command of his beleaguered unit. Later, when the enemy weapons were silenced by supporting arms fire, Sergeant Young led his patrol to safety through two miles of jungle. His superb leadership and aggressive fighting spirit were an inspiration to his men and were instrumental in preventing his patrol from being overwhelmed by the enemy force. By his selfless courage, outstanding professionalism and unfaltering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger, Sergeant Young 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.