Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Silver Star

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    Staff Sergeant [then Private]

    Regiment:

    119th Infantry Regiment

    Division:

    30th Infantry Division

    Action Date:

    August 9, 1944

    Headquarters, 30th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 126 (December 17, 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 Staff Sergeant [then Private] Peter J. Zanella (ASN: 39537113), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy on 9 August 1944, in France. Staff Sergeant Zanella distinguished himself when a number of casualties were sustained by his battalion as the result of intense enemy mortar and artillery fire. Observing several wounded men two hundred yards away, lying unattended and exposed to fire, Staff Sergeant Zanella ran forward through the shelled area, reached one of the injured men, and carried him back to a safe position where medical treatment could be administered. Five times Staff Sergeant Zanella made the hazardous trip out to the wounded men, each time helping one man back to care and safety. As a result of Staff Sergeant Zanella’s courage and complete unselfishness, five men whose lives might otherwise have been lost, were rescued. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Staff Sergeant Zanella, 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.