The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Charles Booth Pike (ASN: 0-513244), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, in action on 23 February 1945, in Germany. Lieutenant Pike and four comrades volunteered to take an enemy strongpoint located in a railroad station, despite two platoons not having been able to capture it. Leaving men to cover their advance, they made their way to a position where they knocked out an enemy automatic weapon. Firing and hurling hand grenades, Lieutenant Pike and his comrades rushed the building through a stream of small arms fire and crashed through the doors. Their sudden assault so startled the enemy that their resistance completely collapsed and thirty-three surrendered. Their gallant actions allowed the attack to continue forward. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by First Lieutenant Pike, 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.