The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain (Field Artillery) Maurice S. Slay (ASN: 0-1823787), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of the 63d Field Artillery Battalion, 24th Infantry Division, in action on 20 July 1950 near Taejon, Korea. Leaving on the mission of bringing necessary supplies to the two firing batteries supporting the 34th Infantry Regiment, Captain Slay was informed that two heavily defended enemy road blocks had been encountered which were disrupting the main route of supply to the forward combat elements of the Regiment. Displaying complete disregard for his own personal safety, he manned a .30 caliber machine gun mounted on the hood of a 3/4 ton vehicle and led three vehicles in an attempt to penetrate the road block. Taken under heavy enemy automatic weapons fire, the vehicles were force to withdraw, but only after inflicting heavy casualties to the numerically superior enemy force. All communications being out, Captain Slay organized his Service Battery for movement to another position and then personally proceeded to reconnoiter the Yongdong road in an attempt to obtain infantry assistance in clearing the road block. Thee actions of Captain Slay instilled great confidence in the men and resulted in a successful withdrawal by the hard-pressed battery with a minimum loss of men and equipment. The courage and complete disregard for personal safety displayed by Captain Slay reflects great credit on himself and the military service.