The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant Richard F. Foote (MCSN: 0-32354), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as an Artillery Forward Observer of Battery F, Second Battalion, Eleventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 19 April 1945. Noticing that one of the members of his team was missing when our troops were forced to withdraw to a new defense position for the night, First Lieutenant Foote courageously set out alone in the twilight to search for the missing Marine, and finding the man wounded and unable to walk in an area infested with hostile troops, dug a foxhole for the wounded man. Remaining with his comrade in the face of both enemy and friendly fire until after dark, he then assisted the casualty to the safety of our lines. By his initiative and devotion to duty, First Lieutenant Foote upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.