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 First Lieutenant (Infantry) Kenneth Walter Gray, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Headquarters, 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces near Palaia, Italy, on 17 July 1944. With fourteen men of his company, First Lieutenant Gray took and held a strategic point on a ridge, during which engagement that followed, half of his men were killed or wounded. Perceiving their desperate plight, Lieutenant Gray called his men into position for a final charge in the face of mortar and machine gun fire and through a mine field. During the charge he killed two Germans with hand grenades and two others with rifle fire and, manning an enemy gun, poured deadly fire into other Germans escaping over the hill. He also took 17 enemy soldiers as prisoners. Through his action a key hostile position was destroyed, enabling his battalion to capture its objective. First Lieutenant Gray’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, the 88th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.