The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Second Lieutenant Nathan A. Lipscomb (MCSN: 0-36146), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while attached to Headquarters Company, Second Battalion, Twenty-eighth Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 21 February 1945. When contact was lost with an adjacent Battalion during an enemy night attack and the assault platoons were suffering heavy casualties under a fierce concentration of hostile mortar and machine-gun fire, Second Lieutenant Lipscomb organized a group of nineteen men from the 81-mm. mortar platoon to fill the gap. Leading his men forward in the dark, exposed to both enemy and friendly fire, he skillfully deployed his small force, reestablishing contact in sufficient time to repel a strong enemy infiltration attempt. Although repeated fanatic Japanese counterattack during the night seriously depleted his small command and caused the loss of contact again with friendly flank elements, Second Lieutenant Lipscomb stoutly maintained his position until dawn, when he cleared his sector of the enemy and consolidated his line with friendly forces. By his courageous initiative and leadership, he contributed materially to the neutralization of enemy resistance in that zone of action, and his diligent devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.