The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Technical Sergeant [then Staff Sergeant] Joseph R. Allison (ASN: 18073852), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with company C, 276th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, on 5 March 1945, near Forbach, France. When the patrol of which he was a member came under the fire of two enemy machine guns, Technical Sergeant Allison crawled ahead of the patrol, into the chain of intense fire, to destroy the enemy guns. Despite the severity and proximity of the hostile fire, he worked his way to within hand grenade distance and hurled three hand grenades into the enemy positions, single-handedly destroying and silencing both guns. He then moved behind enemy lines where he remained for six hours, returning with valuable information which served as the basis for a subsequent successful attack.