The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Corporal Weslie Louis Phillips (MCSN: 288235), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company P, FOURTH Marine Raider Battalion, in the early part of the engagement at Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, on 20 July 1943. Occupying a key position in the center of his company’s lines, Corporal Phillips pressed forward alone with a machine gun after all the other men in his squad had become casualties. The fire he laid down was so destructive that the enemy were driven from a ridge. Gathering ammunition from the dead and wounded, he held off the enemy while the wounded were being evacuated under the cover of his fire. The outstanding heroism and skill displayed by Corporal Phillips on this occasion reflect highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.