The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain William Dudley Wright, Jr. (NSN: 0-58295), United States Navy, for conspicuous bravery, extraordinary ability and constant devotion to duty in the performance of outstanding services as Deputy Commander of an Assault Group in the attack on the coast of France, 6 June 1944. Captain Wright took station close to the beach under heavy enemy fire at an early hour of the day of the assault. He remained under fire during the most bitter period of the fighting, when with great coolness he made decisions on the spot, reorganized, grouped and dispatched craft to the beach, and made the weight of his judgment felt in a manner which contributed materially to the success of the attack. Captain Wright relieved the Task Group Commander according to plan when the latter withdrew the Transports from the assault area. Immediately afterward he was placed in general charge afloat of Navy responsibilities for unloading, and directly supervised Ferry Craft. The rapid clearing of the backlog of ships was due in large measure to the organizational ability, experience and tireless effort which he brought to this task. During the exceptional storm of 19 to 23 June 1944, Captain Wright was often called on to deal with a host of problems and difficulties requiring sound judgment and constant attention lest the military and naval situation be impaired. The courage under fire, initiative, skill, judgment and untiring efforts of Captain Wright contributed in an outstanding manner to the success of the operation and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.