The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private First Class Kenneth A. Kraft (MCSN: 506927), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Rifleman in a platoon of Company I, Third Battalion, Twenty-sixth Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 22 February 1945. Alert and aggressive, Private First Class Kraft spotted a wounded comrade in front of the platoon’s lines at a critical period of the action when the enemy’s blanketing mortar and artillery barrage was inflicting severe casualties on his unit. Quick to act, he voluntarily crawled approximately thirty feet to the wounded Marine and, braving the savage fury of Japanese fire, carried his comrade to a shell hole where he promptly administered first aid. Returning to his platoon, he organized a rescue party and subsequently assisted in evacuating the Marine, thereby saving the life of the wounded man. Although mortally wounded by a burst of machine-gun fire later in the day, Private First Class Kraft, by his dauntless initiative and unfaltering devotion to duty in the face of tremendous opposition, had rendered valiant service and his conduct throughout upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.