The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Obie C. Catron (ASN: 34904038), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division, in action against an armed enemy at Luzon, Philippine Islands. During an attack against a hill near Irisan on 21 April 1945, two soldiers were seriously wounded and lay in an exposed position. Sergeants Obie Catron and James Neal, in spite of the intense enemy fire, immediately ran to the wounded men, picked up one of them and carried him to cover. They then returned to the other casualty and carried him to the same covered position. Discovering that the first man had died in the interim, Sergeants Catron and Neal carried the second casualty 100 yards down the hill under heavy hostile fire to the battalion aid station. Their gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for their own lives, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon themselves and the United States Army.