The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star (Army Award) to Colonel Melvin J. Maas (MCSN: 0-4104), United States Marine Corps, for gallantry in action over New Guinea on 3 September 1942. When word was received at Fort Moresby, New Guinea, that enemy war craft had put into Milne Bay and that heavy ground fighting had broken out during the night of 2 – 3 September, Colonel Maas volunteered to accompany a crew of one of several planes on a reconnaissance of the area, acting as observer and manning the port gun as auxiliary gunner. On finding that the enemy ships had left Milne Bay and that the ground fighting had become desultory, the plane immediately left on a search for the enemy war craft. It located and dropped food and supplies to an isolated outpost on the northern coast of the New Guinea, searched out enemy airdromes, machine-gunning one, and continued a determined and difficult search for the enemy ships, flying over eight hours under extremely unfavorable weather conditions. This voluntary and aggressive effort on the part of Colonel Maas to assist in any capacity in the combat reconnaissance of an important area occupied by the enemy is worthy of the finest traditions of our fighting forces.