The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Donald K. Burns (MCSN: 491802), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against enemy forces while serving with Company A, First Battalion, Second Marines, SECOND Marine Division, on Tinian, Mariana Islands, on 29 July 1944, as a member of a Marine Infantry Battalion. When the patrol of which Private First Class Burns was a member was ambushed and pinned down by enemy troops armed with rifles and machine guns, Private First Class Burns exposed himself to very heavy fire to run across an area that was covered from three sides by the enemy, to get back to friendly lines and guide tanks to the scene of action. When he had returned with the tanks, he again, exposed himself to carry a wounded man to the safety of a tank, during which action he was very severely wounded. His courage, willingness, and presence of mind contributed greatly in saving the lives of many men in the patrol. His gallant disregard for his personal safety and heroic conduct were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.