Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Platoon Sergeant

Unit:

Company B, 2nd Tank Battalion, HQ, 2nd Marine Division "The Silent Second", U.S. Marine Corps

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Walter Fieguth (335667), Platoon Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving with Company B, Second Tank Battalion, Second Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces at Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, on 21 November 1943. When his platoon of light tanks grounded on a coral reef, Platoon Sergeant Fieguth unhesitatingly waded to within two hundred yards of the shore despite intense, persistent enemy machine-gun fire to locate a shallow water path through which to lead his platoon ashore and, returning to his tank, attempted a landing in water approximately three feet deep. Successfully leading the tank a distance of eight hundred yards across a shell-pocked reef and a mined beach, he then contacted the Battalion Commander and subsequently made his way back to the beach to guide the remainder of the platoon ashore under cover of darkness. Platoon Sergeant Fieguth's splendid initiative, aggressive determination and unselfish devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.