The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Orville Emil Bloch, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 22 September 1944, while serving with Company E, 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division, in action at Firenzuola, Italy. First Lieutenant Bloch undertook the task of wiping out five enemy machinegun nests that had held up the advance in that particular sector for one day. Gathering three volunteers from his platoon, the patrol snaked their way to a big rock, behind which a group of three buildings and five machinegun nests were located. Leaving the three men behind the rock, he attacked the first machinegun nest alone charging into furious automatic fire, kicking over the machinegun, and capturing the machinegun crew of five. Pulling the pin from a grenade, he held it ready in his hand and dashed into the face of withering automatic fire toward this second enemy machinegun nest located at the corner of an adjacent building 15 yards distant. When within 20 feet of the machinegun he hurled the grenade, wounding the machine gunner, the other two members of the crew fleeing into a door of the house. Calling one of his volunteer group to accompany him, they advanced to the opposite end of the house, there contacting a machinegun crew of five running toward this house. First Lieutenant Bloch and his men opened fire on the enemy crew, forcing them to abandon this machinegun and ammunition and flee into the same house. Without a moment’s hesitation, First Lieutenant Bloch, unassisted, rushed through the door into a hail of small-arms fire, firing his carbine from the hip, and captured the seven occupants, wounding three of them. First Lieutenant Bloch with his men then proceeded to a third house where they discovered an abandoned enemy machinegun and detected another enemy machinegun nest at the next corner of the building. The crew of six spotted First Lieutenant Bloch the instant he saw them. Without a moment’s hesitation he dashed toward them. The enemy fired pistols wildly in his direction and vanished through a door of the house, First Lieutenant Bloch following them through the door, firing his carbine from the hip, wounding two of the enemy and capturing six. Altogether First Lieutenant Bloch had single-handedly captured 19 prisoners, wounding six of them and eliminating a total of five enemy machinegun nests. His gallant and heroic actions saved his company many casualties and permitted them to continue the attack with new inspiration and vigor.