The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant William T. Jardine (ASN: 0-1306594), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company D, 1st Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, in action near ****, France, on 14 November 1944. When a rifle company which his machine gun section was supporting encountered determined resistance in the course of an attack on a dominant hill near ****, Lieutenant Jardine led his men through aimed rifle and machine gun fire to a point where effective fire could be directed against enemy positions on the crest of the hill. When this action succeeded in forcing the Germans to withdraw, Lieutenant Jardine and his section made their way across the hilltop and, after overcoming enemy resistance by the use of hand grenades, set up their guns on the forward slope of the hill. Although this position was 150 yards ahead of the company line, and subjected to intense enemy artillery, mortar and machine gun fire, as well as to 88-mm. fire from a tank approximately two thousand yards distant, the group heroically continued at their post, enabling one platoon of the supported company to overrun several enemy emplacements and capture fifteen prisoners. When the enemy launched a counterattack, and one of the guns of the section suffered a direct hit, Lieutenant Jardine ordered his men to direct a concentration of small arms and automatic rifle fire against the enemy, so that the German attack was successfully repulsed. Lieutenant Jardine’s brilliant and daring leadership is in accord with the military traditions of the United States and reflects high credit upon his character.