The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant Lawrence S. Bangser (MCSN: 0-15394), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while attached to Company E, Second Raider Battalion, Second Marine Regiment (Provisional), First Amphibious Corps, Fleet Marine Force, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Bougainville, Solomon Islands, from 21 to 26 November 1943. Voluntarily leading a small patrol consisting of three Marines and three natives on a particularly perilous mission deep into enemy-held territory in order to obtain information of great importance, First Lieutenant Bangser disembarked some fifty miles in the rear of the hostile line and skillfully led his men five miles inland through dense jungle to the heart of the enemy positions and there established an observation post within twenty-five feet of the main supply road. After keeping a large hostile force under close observation for more than twenty-four hours and gaining the necessary information vital to future operations of friendly troops, he successfully led his patrol out of the enemy position and back to his own base. By his daring initiative, personal courage and unselfish devotion to duty in the face of peril, he contributed materially to the successful completion of a difficult operation and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.