The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant [then Sergeant] Hobart Sexton (ASN: 6945679), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company A, 781st Tank Battalion, 42d Infantry Division, in action on 17 January 1945, near Sessenheim, France. When the enemy launched a strong counter-attack across a small river and the infantry unit he was supporting withdrew, Sergeant Sexton opened fire from his tank. Together with another tank and a machine gun squad, he repulsed the assault and drove the enemy back across the river. Refusing to withdraw until his ammunition was exhausted, he killed or wounded more than three hundred Germans.