Coronado Marine soldier posthumously awarded Silver Star

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Coronado Marine soldier has received a Silver Star Medal 51 years after he lost his life while trying to save four other Marines during combat in Vietnam.

KNSD-TV reports First Lieutenant Philip Sauer was posthumously awarded the Silver Star during a Tuesday ceremony at Camp Pendleton.

His sister, Mary Schoelch, and brothers Nick, Tom and Coulter accepted the award on Sauer’s behalf.

The Silver Star Medal is third-highest military combat decoration that U.S. soldiers can receive. It is awarded for “gallantry in action against an enemy of the U.S.”

Bill Mark was one of the four Marines that was with Sauer when they were ambushed by at least 30 enemy fighters and the only survivor.

He says without Sauer, he probably wouldn’t have been able to escape.

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Information from: KNSD-TV, http://www.nbcsandiego.com/index.html