The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Donald Taggart, United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company L, 3d Battalion, 345th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy near Neuendorf, Germany, on 1 March 1945. When an enemy machine gun forced his platoon to cover, Private First Class Taggart immediately volunteered to silence the gun. He fearlessly crawled forward under hostile fire through a booby-trapped wood to a point adjacent to the machine gun nest. Throwing a hand grenade into the emplacement, he destroyed the gun, killed two Germans, and effected the capture of two others. Private First Class Taggart’s gallantry enabled his platoon to continue its advance upon the objective. His courage and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Army.



