The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Staff Sergeant Howard B. Knox, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with the 6th Company, 3d Regiment, First Special Service Force, in action against enemy forces on 4 June 1944, at Rome, Italy. When his platoon was engaged in a fierce fire fight with an enemy holding force supported by a light tank, Sergeant Knox was painfully wounded by enemy fire. Despite his agony, he ran through about twenty years of very intense fire to a point within ten yards of the supporting tank and threw a grenade into its open turret, causing the crew to cease fire. Sergeant Knox called to a nearby machine gun crew, had it follow him across the street and sighted the weapon to cover the approach of a second tank. He re-crossed the street and in doing so encountered two of the enemy attempting to escape and destroyed them by sub-machine gun fire. On returning to his platoon, Sergeant Knox supervised its reorganization and withdrawal because of lack of ammunition. He then was evacuated for immediate hospitalization. His stamina, his extraordinary courage, and his high sense of duty served as a strong contributory factor in eliminating a formidable foe from the area of an important military objective. Staff Sergeant Knox’s extraordinary heroism, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.