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 [then Corporal] Florendo B. Pascual (ASN: US-50000523), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of Company L, 3d Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, in action against an armed enemy in Korea. On 7 September 1951, near Chorwon, Korea, Company L, 3d Battalion, occupying defensive positions behind a smoke screen, the enemy troops blasted their way through the barbed wire entanglements with Bangalore torpedoes and brought the fiercely resisting Company L under a withering, raking fire. Sergeant Pascual, although painfully wounded during the initial assault, refuse medical attention and left the comparative safety of his position in order to reach an advantageous site from which to direct the fire of his mortar squad. Throughout the bitterly-contested seven hour battle, Sergeant Pascual fearlessly exposed himself to the full intensity of hostile fire and directed a large volume of shattering mortar fire upon the foe. Sergeant Pascual’s gallant leadership and courageous devotion to duty reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.