The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant [then Private] Elias B. Denuna, Philippine Army, for gallantry in action on 24 March 1942 in Mindanao, Philippine Islands. During a bitter engagement in which his company finally was ordered to withdraw, he discovered an officer severely wounded and unable to move with the unit. Under the heavy enemy fire, Sergeant Denuna placed the officer on a tree limb for movement and then ran through the continuing enemy fire to tell of their location. Immediately he returned and, with great difficulty, began moving the stricken man toward the rear, until, finally, an aid party arrived and helped to carry the injured man to safety. Sergeant Denuna’s courage under hostile fire in the face of the approaching enemy and his determination to aid his wounded comrade are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.