The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Sergeant [then Specialist Fourth Class] George Joseph Fuerst (ASN: 19616869), United States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force on 17 November 1969 while serving as a Rifleman with Company B, 2d Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam. On this date while on a sweep through a dense nipa palm thicket, one of the company’s platoons came under heavy fire from a well-fortified enemy bunker complex, pinning down the point element. Specialist Fuerst ran forward and assumed an exposed position to cover his comrades’ flanking movement. He then crawled to the closest bunker and eliminated it and its occupants. He continued to move forward, firing on the enemy emplacements. As he approached another hostile fortification, he was fatally wounded by an enemy sniper. Specialist Fourth Class Fuerst’s actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.