The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant James Patrick Ronan (MCSN: 0-32984), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Platoon Leader, attached to Company D, Second Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 24 February 1945. Determined to wipe out a pocket of enemy resistance which had established positions on the beach behind Marine front lines, Second Lieutenant Ronan boldly advanced ahead of his platoon into the hostile territory, deliberately risking his own life in order to make a thorough reconnaissance before ordering his men to advance. Again acting as scout for his unit during advance operations, he was moving parallel to friendly lines across open beach when he suddenly observed a brush-covered Japanese ambush lying in wait for his advancing platoon. Launching a single-handed attack upon the hidden enemy, Second Lieutenant Ronan took them by surprise from the rear, throwing the hostile enemy into confusion and thereby enabling his platoon to attack and destroy the ambush with comparative ease. A resolute and courageous leader, Second Lieutenant Ronan, by his keen foresight and cool daring, succeeded in completing his perilous mission without loss of a single man and his heroic example throughout upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.