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 (Chemical Warfare Service) Robert D. McDowell (ASN: 0-1535675), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 35th Infantry Division, in action at ****, Germany, on 8 March 1945. When his unit supported infantry elements, Lieutenant McDowell and other personnel occupied a strategically located house from which the enemy had but recently been drive. The enemy then concentrated an artillery barrage upon the site, whereupon Lieutenant McDowell directed other personnel to the cellar while himself remaining on the third floor to direct accurate fire which served to case a cessation of the enemy fire. Lieutenant McDowell’s tenacity of purpose in remaining at his hazardous position, his devotion to duty and utter disregard for personal safety, bespeak such gallantry in action as to be in accord with the military traditions of the United States.