The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Soldier’s Medal to Technical Sergeant [then Staff Sergeant] Leslie W. Endeward (ASN: 36240171), United States Army, for heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy while serving with Headquarters Company, 3d Battalion, 222d Infantry Regiment, 42d Infantry Division, on 12 April 1945, at Schweinfurt, Germany. Upon entering Schweinfurt, elements of the 222nd Infantry found a woman trapped alive beneath the rubble and wreckage of a bombed building which was on the verge of further collapse. In attempting to rescue the woman, an American officer was overcome by toxic gases in the closed area under the debris, and was in danger of succumbing. Sergeant Endeward, braving the danger of the poisonous fumes and of the imminent collapse of the building, voluntarily crawled through the wreckage, reached the unconscious officer, and carried him to safety. Through his gallant action, Sergeant Endeward saved the life of an American officer.