Headquarters, 85th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 71 (November 8, 1944)
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Paul S. Contois (ASN: 0-1324911), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company M, 3rd Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy in Italy, on 2 October 1944. While occupying a forward observation post, then under direct fire of two enemy tanks six hundred yards away, Second Lieutenant Contois, a mortar section leader, noticed a blaze in a hay filled barn in the cellar of which twenty men were sleeping. Realizing that the rapidly spreading fire had trapped the sleeping men and, despite the fire from the hostile tanks, he seized a pick, ran to the burning building and dug a hole through the side of the wall to allow the trapped men to escape. Disregarding the burning fragments that filled the air when the enemy again shelled the building, he persisted in the performance of his gallant act until the barn was completely evacuated. His outstanding courage and utter disregard for his own safety under direct fire of the enemy tanks saved the lives of the twenty soldiers and reflects great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.