The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Coy E. Johnson (ASN: 34504543), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 35th Infantry Division, in action in the vicinity of ****, Germany, on 12 April 1945. When the combat patrol with which Private Johnson, a rifleman, had volunteered to reconnoiter the enemy-held town of ****, encountered an outpost manned by eight Germans armed with machine guns and rifles, on his own initiative and disregarding personal safety, he rushed the outpost, killed two Germans, wounded two others and captured the remaining four enemy soldiers. Private Johnson’s gallantry is in accord with the military traditions of the United States.