The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal Otto L. Yeater (MCSN: 327454), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Marine Aircraft Group Twenty-Three during the bombing of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, by enemy Japanese forces on the night of October 13-14, 1942. When a direct bomb hit demolishes a dugout in which he and five other men had taken shelter, Corporal Yeater, after being assisted from the debris, worked tirelessly with a companion to uncover those still buried in the ruins. Exposed to enemy shells from surface vessels and aircraft, and lacking tools, he dug with his bare hands for an hour and a half in a desperate but vain attempt to extricate his comrades. His courage and heroic devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.