(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: 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 Captain (Chaplain’s Corps) Michael Joseph Quealy (ASN: 0-2319698), United States Army, for gallantry in action involving close combat against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. Chaplain Quealy distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 8 November 1966, while serving as Chaplain with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, on a combat mission in the Republic of Vietnam. Against the advice of senior officers at field headquarters in Dau Tieng, Chaplain Quealy insisted on boarding a helicopter of medics and troop reinforcements flying to the relief of the 1st Battalion, under attack in War Zone C northwest of Saigon. Landing at the battle site, Chaplain Quealy checked at the battalion command post to learn where the heaviest fighting was, and rushed to the field to assist with the wounded and give Last Rites to the dying. He saw one seriously wounded man some distance away from the main group and crawled to his side under intense fire from three enemy automatic weapons. By the time he arrived, the man had died, but Chaplain Quealy administered Last Rites and then noticed another wounded soldier and went to him. While he was kneeling by that soldier’s side, a Viet Cong soldier stepped out from the brush and fired at the chaplain with a machine gun, mortally wounding him in the chest and abdomen. Chaplain Quealy’s extraordinary heroism in close combat against an enemy force is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 1st Infantry Division, and the United States Army.