The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal Karsten I. Fjelstad (MCSN: 407139), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with the Second Amphibian Tractor Battalion, SECOND Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, on 20 November 1943. With his amphibian tractor immobilized in the shallow water offshore by the enemy’s shattering barrages during landing operations on D-Day, Corporal Fjelstad fearlessly risked his life to aid the operator who was gravely wounded when the shell struck and, immediately transferring the helpless Marine from the cab to the cargo compartment, skillfully and expeditiously administered first aid. Unable to remove his companion under the constant shellfire weeping the area, he swam to other stricken tractors in the vicinity to obtain additional medical essentials and, upon returning to his own vehicle, continued to care for the wounded man for a thirty-two hour period before he could be moved to a first aid station on the beach. By his daring initiative, dauntless perseverance and grave concern for the safety of another despite the tremendous odds, Corporal Fjelstad was instrumental in saving the life of a man who otherwise might have perished, and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.