Following recuperation from his leg wound, Taussig was assigned to the in the Philippines and then to the , a supply ship carrying food stores for the Army from Australia to the Philippines. Following that, he was assigned to commanded by his father, Commander Edward D. Taussig USN. While serving on at Yokohama Harbor, Taussig rescued a shipmate who had gone to the rescue of another drowning man. Both men were saved and for his heroism, Taussig was awarded the Silver Life Saving Medal by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1902. Of the numerous personal decorations and service medals he was awarded, it was the medal that Taussig prized most throughout his life.