The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Michael J. Donnellan, Jr. (ASN: 42136539), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company L, 414th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division, in Germany, on 15 April 1945. Private First Class Donnellan was a member of a reconnaissance patrol riding tanks which were halted and forced to withdraw due to intense fire from two well-concealed enemy machine guns. He and two other men were trapped in a cross fire and could not depart with the others. Private First Class Donnellan sprang up immediately and ran three hundred yards, exposed all the time to withering enemy machine gun fire, to recall the tanks. He then led them by another route in an assault on the two concealed enemy machine guns. This assault eliminated both weapons and undoubtedly saved the lives of his comrades. Private First Class Donnellan’s heroic actions and unselfish devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Armed Forces of the United States.