The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star (Army Award) to Major Webb Duane Sawyer (MCSN: 0-7847), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while Commanding the Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), in Korea, on 8 December 1950. His battalion had been assigned as the advance guard of an infantry Regiment and was ordered to attack, seize and occupy the vital key terrain feature, Hill 1304, which was being strongly defended by the enemy. This hill controlled the critical passage through which the entrapped FIRST Marine Division had to move from Koto-ri to Chinhung-ni. In addition, his Battalion was to afford flank protection to the advance elements of the Regimental and Division vehicle train. The morning dawned in a driving snowstorm which limited visibility and ceiling to only a few feet throughout the entire day, and was punctuated by sub-zero temperature ranging to 22 degrees below zero. His battalion had become severely depleted from casualties and was virtually exhausted after more than eleven days of bitter fighting. During the attack of Hill 1304, which was being defended by a tenacious enemy from deeply entrenched and well camouflaged positions, seeing that one of his rifle companies was being outflanked by a numerically superior enemy, Major Sawyer, in spite of a painful foot wound received the previous day, traversed the tortuous terrain, to reach the dangerous flank. Constantly exposing himself to heavy enemy small arms, automatic weapons and sniper fire, he personally directed and led the attack of his depleted Battalion with such calculated precision and aggressiveness as to completely outmaneuver the enemy and in so doing, routed him from his defensive positions, inflicted innumerable casualties upon his foe and captured the vital objective. He then led elements of his battalion down a steep mountain pass for four miles to join friendly forces and open the road for the entrapped FIRST Marine Division. Major Sawyer’s devotion to duty, his aggressiveness, skill and heroic action served as a constant inspiration and example to all his officers and men.