(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: 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 pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Scott D. Kenyon, United States Army, for gallantry in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force on 6 June 2008, while serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in Anbar Province, Iraq. On that date Staff Sergeant Kenyon’s unit was able to move under cover of darkness, undetected the first couple hundred yards, to close in on two Iraqis planting a roadside bomb in Anbar Province. Staff Sergeant Kenyon rounded a corner on a row of road-side shops to cross the last 150 feet when one Iraqi, with a silenced 9-mm. submachine gun, spotted him. Taken under fire, Staff Sergeant Kenyon returned fire, advancing and hitting both Iraqis. Hit twice by enemy fire himself, he was spared by his Kevlar helmet which stopped a bullet to the head, and a protective chest plate that stopped the other round. After the enemy with the machine gun was hit in the wrist by Staff Sergeant Kenyon’s fire, the weapon clattered away and Staff Sergeant Kenyon continued, wrestling him to the ground while one of his comrades killed the other enemy. Staff Sergeant Kenyon’s courage under enemy fire effectively suppressed two enemy combatants. He was shot twice, yet managed to set the conditions for the rest of his platoon to maneuver into a position to place lethal fires on the enemy. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 3d Infantry Division, and the United States Army.