The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Private First Class Charles E. Welch (MCSN: 412858), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving as a Member of Headquarters and Service Company, First Engineer Battalion, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu, Palau Islands, 16 September 1944. Aware that infiltrating Japanese were inflicting severe casualties and seriously threatening our positions, Private First Class Welch, with a fellow Marine, left his protected position and, in the face of heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, heroically charged a hostile emplacement where the enemy had set up two machine guns. Although wounded by fragments from an enemy hand grenade, he gallantly continued his assault and, with the aid of his companion, succeeded in destroying the hostile position, annihilating eight Japanese and capturing two automatic weapons, thereby enabling his unit to continue in support of the attack. His courage in the face of overwhelming odds and unwavering devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Private First Class Welch and the United States Naval Service.