Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Silver Star

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    First Lieutenant (Infantry), [then Second Lieutenant]

    Regiment:

    119th Infantry Regiment

    Division:

    30th Infantry Division

    Action Date:

    October 18, 1944

    Headquarters, 30th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 121 (December 13, 1944)

    The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Infantry), [then Second Lieutenant] Winslow H. MacDonald (ASN: 0-528480), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy on 18 October 1944, in Germany. During a counterattack, staged by four enemy tanks and a number of infantry troops against his company, in his determination to prevent his unit from being overrun, First Lieutenant MacDonald took a bazooka and concealed himself along the route of the enemy tanks’ approach. When the first tank rumbled into view, First Lieutenant MacDonald fired twice, hitting it and forcing it to withdraw. With his position now revealed, he became a target for the machine guns of the tanks which followed, but he continued firing his weapon until he forced all the tanks to withdraw. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by First Lieutenant MacDonald, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.