The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain (Infantry), [then Second Lieutenant] Randolph M. Sumerall (ASN: 0-1291372), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, in action against the enemy in Italy. On 18 October 1943, at 1300 hours, Captain Sumerall led a twenty-man patrol in an attack on Roccoromano, Italy. When numerically superior enemy machine gun and rifle fire threatened to wipe out his patrol, Captain Sumerall ordered his men to withdraw while he alone, remained to cover them. Seeing that two of his men were trapped in a shallow ditch, he stood upright in the face of enemy fire and exchanged shots with the Germans thus enabling two men to withdraw to safety. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Captain Sumerall, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.