The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Infantry), [then Second Lieutenant] Donald E. LaBlanc (ASN: 0-2204192), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of the 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in action against an armed enemy near Haman, Korea, on 30 August 1950. On this date, his unit was ambushed and partially surrounded by a numerically superior enemy force. Although under intense machine gun and small arms fire, he repeatedly exposed himself while supervising the building of a line to deliver effective counterfire. When he realized that the enemy’s automatic weapons were in command of his area, he ordered his unit to withdraw. While his unit was withdrawing, he voluntarily elected to remain in position and slow down the enemy charge by firing a captured machine gun. When he saw that his entire unit had safely withdrawn, he broke the enemy weapon over a rack and threw it at them. He was wounded by enemy fire but he crawled back toward his unit in order to warn them of a dangerously placed enemy machine gun. His frantic signal was seen. The men deployed and knocked out the enemy gun. Lieutenant LaBlanc’s calm direction of operations, courageous action and aggressiveness reflects great credit upon himself and upholds the highest traditions of the Military Service of the United States.