Paul Norton Mccloskey, Jr.

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Paul Norton McCloskey, Jr. (0-50232), Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commander of a Rifle Platoon in Company C, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces in the Republic of Korea on 29 May 1951. Assigned the difficult mission of assaulting a strongly defended enemy hill position from the flank, Second Lieutenant McCloskey skillfully led his platoon through a vicious hail of automatic-weapons, small-arms and grenade fire into the heart of the hostile position. Although painfully wounded in the initial charge, he resolutely continued to spearhead the assault, coolly directing and encouraging his men and personally moving into the enemy-held bunkers to seek out and destroy their occupants. By his daring initiative, aggressive determination and inspiring leadership, he was responsible for the success of the attack which left forty of the enemy dead and twenty-two captured, and for the seizing of a strategic position from a numerically superior hostile force. His unwavering devotion to duty in the face of heavy odds reflects the highest credit upon Second Lieutenant McCloskey and the United States Naval Service.