The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Donald I. Bahde (MCSN: 485529), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a Tank Commander of the First Tank Battalion, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 22 May 1945. During an assault over difficult terrain, Sergeant Bahde was attempting to move his tank forward and destroy an enemy emplacement which had pinned down the accompanying infantry. When he observed two seriously wounded infantrymen lying in the path of his tank and unable to move, he promptly dismounted from his tank in the face of concentrated enemy fire and, crawling to the wounded men, carried them, one at a time, to the safety of his vehicle. Thereafter, he continued to advance and carry out his mission of destroying the enemy fortifications. His initiative, coolness under fire and unselfish devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.