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) George Rodrigues (ASN: 0-1012818), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 1st Armored Division on 3 November 1944, on Hill 721, Torre de Nerone, Italy. During the first of six enemy battalion-sized attacks on Torre de Nerone, First Lieutenant Rodrigues, fighting with carbine and hand grenades, played an important part in throwing back the enemy riflemen who had surrounded the Company Command Post. Preparatory to the sixth and final enemy counterattack to regain the ground they had lost to the armored infantry battalion, the battalion was subjected to a two-hour-and-thirty-minute mortar and artillery barrage on the positions atop Hill 721. During the barrage, the building which housed the Company Command Post, key to the entire hill because of its location, was leveled by fire from a self-propelled 88-mm. gun. Many casualties were sustained, including the company commander, making it necessary to withdraw slightly to a more covered position. When the barrage lifted and enemy infantry began to move in to occupy the positions they though vacated by our forces, they were surprised by a group of twenty men whom First Lieutenant Rodrigues had gathered together and rushed back into position before the enemy arrived. First Lieutenant Rodrigues himself engaged the attackers first, killing one with a hand grenade. Firing every available weapon, First Lieutenant Rodrigues and his small force bore the brunt of the attack and held their ground, allowing the remainder of the company to later reoccupy its positions in their entirety and repel the enemy attack altogether. The courage, leadership, and devotion to duty displayed by First Lieutenant Rodrigues reflects the finest traditions of the armed forces and is deserving of the highest praise.