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 Harold E. Higgenbothom (ASN: 34792110), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 232d Infantry Regiment, 42d Infantry Division, in action on 15 March 1945 near Reipertswiller, France. During the attack on Hill 301, Sergeant Higgenbothom, although wounded in both legs by mortar fragments, crawled through a mine field under heavy machine gun and rifle fire to a wounded medical aid man, secured his medical bag, and returned to administer first aid to one of the members of his squad who was severely wounded by an enemy mine. Working under intense enemy fire, he applied a tourniquet to the wounded man’s leg and then refused to be evacuated until his comrade had been removed from the battlefield. Sergeant Higgenbothom’s prompt and gallant, self-sacrificing action undoubtedly saved the soldier’s life.