Ted Joseph Carlton

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Ted Joseph Carlton (349352), Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving with the Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces at Peleliu, Palau Islands, on 3 October 1944. Pinned down by withering hostile small-arms fire emanating from a firmly-entrenched cave while advancing single-file with a forward assault platoon against a steep, jagged cliff, Private First Class Carlton refused to seek cover and, steadily working his way to the head of the column under the enemy’s intense barrage, succeeded in neutralizing the position with expertly placed bazooka fire, thereby enabling the advance to continue. With two members of a nearby company seriously wounded when the enemy again attacked from a higher slope, Private First Class Carlton unhesitatingly risked his life to attempt a rescue and, pressing forward over the crest through concentrated machine-gun fire, carried one to safety and returned with the other before he was fatally struck down by a bursting shell. By his daring initiative, great personal valor and self-sacrificing devotion to the completion of an extremely perilous task, Private First Class Carlton saved the lives of two men who otherwise might have perished and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

Commander in Chief, Pacific Forces: Serial 01367 (March 22, 1945)