Quentin R. Walsh

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Quentin R. Walsh, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of a specially trained U.S. Naval reconnaissance party at Cherbourg, France, on 26 and 27 June 1944. Lieutenant Commander Walsh enterd the port of Cherbourg with Army troops three weeks after D-Day of the Normandy Invasion, and penetrated the eastern half of the city. While leading his party through scattered pockets of resistance, he engaged in street fighting and accepted the surrender of 750 Germans, 400 at the naval arsenal and 350 at nearby Fort du Homet. He secured the release of 52 captured U.S. Army paratroopers who were being held prisoner in the fort. His aggressive leadership and outstanding heroism were instrumental in the surrender of the last inner fortress of the Cherbourg arsenal and considerably expedited its occupation and use by the Allied forces. The conduct of Lieutenant Commander Walsh throughout this action reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 338 (May 1945)