The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Darwin Richard Pilson (MCSN: 2050793), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Platoon Guide with Company B, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Rein.), FMF, in connection with combat operations against insurgent communist (Viet Cong) forces in the Republic of Vietnam on 10 August 1966. During Operation COLORADO near Tam Ky, Sergeant Pilson was moving with the center squad of his platoon when an adjacent squad received heavy casualties from intense small arms and automatic weapons fire. After conferring with the platoon sergeant, he voluntarily braved intense hostile fire to lead his Company Commander and a small relief force to the besieged squad. Crawling under heavy machine gun fire, Sergeant Pilson administered aid to some of the wounded and retrieved a light anti-tank assault weapon. When the weapon misfired, he and the platoon sergeant commenced throwing hand grenades into the Viet Cong machine gun position. During this assault, the platoon sergeant was wounded and the Platoon Corpsman was killed, but Sergeant Pilson persisted in h is valiant effort, repeatedly exposing himself to the withering fire until the machine gun was silenced. Still under sniper fire, he was withdrawing the wounded to a safer area when he was wounded in the back during a mortar attack. Without concern for his own painful shrapnel wounds, he manned a machine gun and provided security while Marine mortarmen delivered accurate counter fire on the enemy mortar position. With grim determination, he fought off the enemy for more than an hour before the arrival of a reserve platoon. By his daring courage and loyal devotion to duty at great risk, Sergeant Pilson upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.