The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant James Schermerhorn (MCSN: 0-105255), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Platoon Commander with Company B, First Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Rein.), FMF, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. During the early morning hours of 12 August 1969, a squad-sized outpost of Company B initiated an ambush against a large North Vietnamese Army unit. When the intensity of enemy fire indicated the presence of a much larger force than anticipated, the squad attempted to return to friendly lines, but became heavily engaged with enemy soldiers who had managed to bypass the squad and had initiated a vicious ground attack against the main body of the company. Realizing the need for immediate action, First Lieutenant Schermerhorn unhesitatingly led the remainder of his platoon forward of the friendly lines to assist his beleaguered squad and made contact with the assaulting hostile force. Constantly exposed to the intense enemy fire, he moved among his men controlling and directing their progress as they engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat while battling their way through the enemy’s forward elements. Seemingly impervious to the hostile rounds impacting around him, First Lieutenant Schermerhorn supervised the evacuation of casualties, killed one North Vietnamese Army soldier with his pistol, and succeeded in joining his force with the pinned-down squad. Shouting instructions and encouragement as he boldly moved from one Marine to another, he so inspired his men by his obvious fearlessness that they exerted maximum effort against the enemy, disorganized and blunted the hostile attack, and forced the North Vietnamese Army unit to retreat. By his courage, aggressive leadership and unfaltering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger, First Lieutenant Schermerhorn contributed significantly to the defeat of a determined and numerically superior enemy force and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.