The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Engineman Second Class Larry D. Villarreal, United States Coast Guard, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Operation MARKET TIME forces in the Republic of Vietnam on 22 January 1969. Petty Officer Villarreal was serving aboard the U.S.C.G.C. POINT BANKS (WPB-82327) when his unit was requested to assist nine South Vietnamese Army personnel trapped on a beach by two platoons of Viet Cong. The sea was the only means of escape. Petty Officer Villarreal, along with a fellow crewman, volunteered to pilot the POINT BANKS’ 14-foot Boston Whaler into the beach to rescue the trapped personnel. Petty Officer Villarreal, acting as small boat coxswain, made two trips into the beach in heavy surf while exposed to intense enemy small arms, automatic weapons fire and the additional hazard of close-in gunfire support from three naval patrol units and a C-47 aircraft. The situation was further complicated by darkness and the fact that the position of the friendly personnel was known only generally. At one point during the evacuation the Boston Whaler outboard motor died, but Petty Officer Villarreal, with outstanding professionalism and composure under fire, restarted the motor and continued with the rescue. With courageous disregard for his own safety, Petty Officer Villarreal and his fellow crew member were able to rescue the trapped personnel. Petty Officer Villarreal’s heroic action, professionalism, and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.