The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant First Class Howard G. Lunger (ASN: RA-12302215), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of Company L, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division, in action against an armed enemy on 1 February 1951 in the vicinity of Chipyongni, Korea. After the 2d Infantry Division had set up their perimeter defense in the area of “TWIN TUNNELS”, they sent out extensive patrols to determine how strong an enemy counterattack to expect, and discovered the enemy was massing large concentrations of troops in the immediate vicinity. Sergeant Lunger’s squad was assigned the mission of protecting the road from Chipyongni, which was the main approach to the communication center and the First Aid Station. When the enemy attack was launched, during the early morning hours of 1 February 1951, it was of division size. Sergeant Lunger, exposing himself constantly to the intense enemy fire, moved from position to position, adjusting and assigning sectors of fire to insure the maximum results with a dangerously short supply of ammunition. As a result of his courageous actions and personal supervision, the enemy were withheld from these positions for almost five hours until the order to withdraw to higher ground was issued. Again, completely disregarding his personal safety, he directed a safe and orderly withdrawal, remaining behind himself to give effective cover fire. Upon reaching their new positions, Sergeant Lunger, displaying an outstanding knowledge of combat tactics and braving the murderous enemy fire once more, deployed his men in such a manner that the enemy forces were denied a breakthrough and the hostile attack was successfully repulsed. Sergeant Lunger’s gallantry in action and outstanding performance of devotion to duty reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.