Joseph ROY Wooldridge

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while attached to the Third Marine Raider Battalion during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area on 5 November 1943. Established in entrenchments at nightfall, Wooldridge and other members of his company were given strict orders to remain in their foxholes and warned that any man who failed to comply would be regarded as an enemy and dealt with accordingly. When a Japanese infiltration party crept stealthily into the area and succeeded in knifing three marines. Wooldridge, at the risk of attracting both friendly and hostile fire, crawled to a distance of 20 yards to reach the injured men. There, in total darkness, he located all of their wounds by sense of touch, stopping the bleeding, applied bandages and kept protective watch over them until they could be evacuated the following morning. His courageous initiative, employed with utter disregard of personal safety, undoubtedly saved the lives of three comrades who otherwise might have perished.