The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Hospitalman Apprentice First Class James Henry Bell (NSN: 8363722), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity during action against enemy Japanese forces while serving as a Medical Corpsman attached to the First Battalion, Second Marines, SECOND Marine Division on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 24 June 1944. When the Rifle Company to which Hospital Apprentice First Class Bell was attached was held up by a counterattack and had received many casualties, he volunteered to proceed in front of the lines to aid the wounded. Although heavy machine gun fire covered the area, he continued to administer first aid to casualties. He was killed while trying to evacuate the wounded. His conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.