The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Pharmacist’s Mate First Class Willard T. Branson (NSN: 6629284), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as a Medical Corpsman attached to a Marine Rifle Company on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 27 February 1945. During a hand grenade battle with the enemy, a call came for a Corpsman; Pharmacist’s Mate First Class Branson, without regard for his own personal safety, rushed forward to the aid of a man wounded seriously in the leg by hand grenade fragments. Because of the exposed position it was impossible to evacuate the casualty immediately, and the nature of the wound made it imperative that the shredded area of the man’s leg be amputated at once. Pharmacist’s Mate First Class Branson, while enemy hand grenades were exploding all around him, operated with great coolness and dexterity, and cleanly amputated the leg and firmly ligated the bleeding arteries. A short time later, the wounded man was evacuated to safety. His courageous conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.