The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Second Lieutenant ((N Robert F. Steffer (ASN: 0-2006219), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company I, 3d Battalion, 232d Infantry Regiment, 42d Infantry Division, in action on 25 February 1945 near Reipertswiller, France. Learning that three men of a reconnaissance patrol had been wounded in a mine field in the vicinity of Reipertswiller, and that one of the men could not be found, Lieutenant Steffer determined to locate the missing man. He entered the mine field alone, worked in total darkness with the constant threat from enemy machine gun positions only 100 yards away, and succeeded in locating the wounded man. Administering first aid, he then carried the soldier to the Battalion Aid Station for further treatment. Lieutenant Steffer’s gallant courage and heroic devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Army.