Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Silver Star

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    First Lieutenant (Infantry), [then Second Lieutenant]

    Batallion:

    3d Battalion

    Regiment:

    222d Infantry Regiment

    Division:

    42d Infantry Division

    Action Date:

    January 24, 1945

    Headquarters, 42d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 5 (January 7, 1946)

    The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Infantry), [then Second Lieutenant] Kenneth A. Ring, Jr. (ASN: 0-551013), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company M, 3d Battalion, 222d Infantry Regiment, 42d Infantry Division, in action on 24 January 1945, near Neubourg, France. During the determined German attack against our defensive positions along the Moder River, Lieutenant Ring, a leader of a heavy machine gun platoon, ordered his men to hold their positions when the enemy penetrated our main line of resistance with a sizeable force. Throughout the attack, while under deadly enemy artillery and small arms fire, he personally encouraged his men, repaired severed communication lines, and led disorganized riflemen in counterattacks to re-establish our lines. When the enemy troops advanced on one of his machine guns, he braved the enemy onslaught and destroyed the German formation with accurate carbine fire. Upon losing contact with one of his positions, he made his way into territory which had been overrun by the enemy and moved the machine gun to a supplementary position. By his gallant actions in the face of overwhelming odds, Lieutenant Ring played a major role in the defense of our main line of resistance during the fanatical German attempt to recapture Alsace.