The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Victor W. Schultz (ASN: 36212144), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, in action at ****, France, on 8 November 1944. In the pre-dawn attack upon the village of ****, rather than send his men to reconnoiter the terrain that lay in the path of attack, Lieutenant Schultz himself led his platoon, cautiously and skillfully guiding it over terrain cunningly mined and booby-trapped by the enemy. While thus adroitly engaged in leading his platoon through an orchard, the enemy discovered the presence of the platoon leader and his men, and promptly pinned them down with mortar and machine gun fire. Undaunted by this enemy action, and exercising outstanding leadership, he moved his platoon forward, but was wounded when a mortar shell fragment struck him. Declining offers of first aid in consideration of the importance of the time element involved in the action, Lieutenant Schultz pressed forward, and with a small group of his men, entered the village, cleared one building of the enemy and entered another under enemy observation. Machine gun and artillery fire closeted the group within the building, and when Lieutenant Schultz observed a machine gun emplacement across the street, he outlined himself in the doorway and engaged in a fire fight with the enemy calling to them to surrender. The enemy replied with additional fire which Lieutenant Schultz returned from his own weapon. During this engagement, an enemy soldier, from a vantage point, shot and killed Lieutenant Schultz. The dynamic leadership of Lieutenant Schultz, his utter disregard for personal safety, his devotion to duty and personal bravery spell the gallantry in action that is traditional in the military service of the United States.