Charles B. Blackmar

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Charles B. Blackmar (0-1183815), First Lieutenant (Infantry), [then Second Lieutenant], U.S. Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company G, 274th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, on 17 February 1945, near Kerbach, France. When, in the darkness of night, the enemy launched a strong counterattack against his company, First Lieutenant Blackmar, without regard for his personal safety, boldly went forward to an exposed position, and using an M-9 projector, ordinarily inadequate for this purpose, he shrewdly improvised effective artificial light and trained it on the enemy. The observation thus gained of the enemy’s positions, permitted the accurate placing of heavy machine gun fire upon the enemy, and resulted in the repelling of the counterattack with casualties approximated at 65 enemy dead or wounded.