The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant First Class Blaine E. Mackrall (ASN: RA-6573917), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of Company B, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division, in action against an armed enemy on 31 August 1950 and 1 September 1950 in the vicinity of Changnyong, Korea. On 31 August 1950 his company was in defensive positions along the Naktong River and was under heavy attack by a numerically superior enemy force. After an all night battle the company was forced to begin a withdrawal to a more tenable position. During the withdrawal, which began in the early hours of 1 September 1950, Sergeant Mackrall was a member of a group crossing a rifle paddy, when a sudden cross fire from enemy automatic weapons and small arms forced the members of the group to take cover. With the enemy force between his group and its objective, Sergeant Mackrall charged directly up the hill in the face of extremely heavy hostile fire and diverted the enemy’s attention from the remainder of his unit long enough for his men to circle the hill in an attempt to flank the enemy force. Superior fire power and possession of commanding ground enabled the enemy to avert this flanking action, but the group was able to withdraw to its selected position. The courageous action of Sergeant Mackrall was responsible for saving the majority of his men. His gallantry on this occasion reflects the highest credit upon himself is in keeping with the fine traditions of the military service.