The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Wade Hughes (ASN: 34129394), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy on 23 February 1945, in Germany. Staff Sergeant Hughes and four comrades volunteered to take an enemy strongpoint located in a railroad station despite two platoons not being able to capture it. Leaving men to cove their advance, they made their way to a position where they knocked out an enemy automatic weapon. Firing and hurling grenades, Staff Sergeant Hughes and his comrades rushed the building through a storm of small arms fire and crashed through the doors. Their sudden assault so startled the enemy that their resistance completely collapsed and thirty-three surrendered. Their gallant actions allowed the attack to continue forward. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Staff Sergeant Hughes, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.