The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain (Chaplain’s Corps) Raymond Leon Raines (ASN: 0-517196), United States Army, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as a Chaplain with the 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy, on 11 July 1944, near Saint Lo, during the battle of Normandy, France. On 9 July 1944, Chaplain Raines’ regiment had taken the town of La Haye and had consolidated its position there. The next day it moved to a more forward position. On 11 July, at about 2:30, the Germans laid down a heavy concentration of mortar and 88-mm. fire on the American position. One of the first shells wounded a sergeant who was in a fox hole next to Chaplain Raines and he, under fire, slowly worked his way over to the wounded man with a first aid kit. The sergeant had suffered a severe abdominal wound and Chaplain Raines gave him sulfa tablets and dusted his wound with sulfa powder. As he was preparing to bandage the wound, a German mortar shell struck the limb of a tree above him and exploded, wounding him in the shoulder. Despite his own injury, he finished binding the sergeant’s wound and tied up the bandage with his uninjured left arm and his teeth, and then bandaged his own wounds. Returning to the aid station, he directed litter bearers to the wounded man who carried him back to safety. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Chaplain Raines, 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.