Serial # 023668
Heavener, Oklahoma
Awarded the Silver Star for actions on Tarawa:
GENERAL ORDERS:
Commander in Chief, Pacific: Serial 01489 (April 18, 1944)
CITATION:
"The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Second Lieutenant Byron J. Bird, United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as a Platoon Leader, attached to Company E, Second Battalion, Sixth Marines, SECOND Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, 26 and 27 November 1943. With an adjacent platoon pinned down by a numerically superior Japanese force, Second Lieutenant Bird unhesitatingly executed a vigorous counterattack, personally putting an enemy machine gun out of action and enabling the other unit to withdraw from its untenable position with all wounded men. On the following day, he boldly led his gallant Marines as the point of an assault company in a four-hour engagement with the enemy and, by his skilled tactics and daring initiative, rendered valiant service in carrying to fulfillment the hazardous mission assigned his platoon. His fearless leadership, indomitable fighting spirit and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave danger were important factors in the success of our operations on the bitterly contested atoll of Tarawa, and his courageous conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon Second Lieutenant Bird and the United States Naval Service."
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Created 17 January 2020
