The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private First Class James William Snell (ASN: RA-12315161), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of Company E, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in action against an armed enemy in Korea. The light machine gun of which Private First Class Snell was assistant gunner was prominently engaged in driving off a determined attack on the company position near Hwanggan, Korea on 27 July 1950 when the booster cap and bipod blew off the weapon and rolled down the hill. Despite the large volume of fire directed at him, Private First Class Snell crawled down the hill, retrieved the missing parts, returned to his position and held them in place on the weapon from an exposed position until he was mortally wounded. Private First Class Snell’s personal courage and devotion to duty were responsible for the continued operation of his machine gun in a critical situation and reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Army.