The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Private First Class Floyd Paul Marquart (ASN: 38207751), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as a Medical Aidman with Company C, 1st Battalion, 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in action against enemy forces in Belgium, on 29 December 1944. On that date, near Longchamps, Belgium, an attacking soldier of the 502d Parachute Infantry was struck in the throat by a shell fragment and was near death from suffocation. Without hesitation, Private First Class Marquart made his way through intense enemy fire to where the wounded soldier lay and there under fire, in a few critical seconds, calmly performed a delicate surgical operation, cutting the man’s throat with his belt knife and ingeniously inserting a piece of his thermometer case in the opening to permit breathing. Then, still under fire he dragged the wounded man seventy-five yards across an open field to a position from which he could be evacuated. Private First Class Marquart was killed in later action while giving aid to another wounded soldier on the battlefield but his heroism lives on as a constant inspiration to his comrades. Private First Class Marquart’s skill and courageous and supreme devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 101st Airborne Division, and the United States Army.