Orville V. Hahn

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Orville V. Hahn (411190), Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving as a Machine Gunner of Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-Third Marines, FOURTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the assault on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 3 March 1945. When his company was ordered to seize a ridge to which the enemy had clung tenaciously and from which devastating fire had prevented two previous attempts to dislodge them, Private First Class Hahn realized that, due to the nature of the terrain, it would be impossible to deliver effective machine-gun fire on the enemy from an emplaced position. Standing upright, he began firing from the hip, catching the enemy by his sudden maneuver and forcing them to break from their positions and commence withdrawing. Although other men were wounded and killed within a few yards of him, Private First Class Hahn never wavered in his determination to carry out his mission and, expending seven hundred rounds of ammunition, inflicted at least twenty-five casualties upon the enemy and effectively neutralized this pocket of resistance, thereby enabling his company to seize the ridge. His outstanding courage, aggressive fighting spirit and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Private First Class Hahn and the United States Naval Service.

SPOT AWARD, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific: Serial 44534 (SofN Signed January 26, 1948)