The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Corporal Paul Bert Huff, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, in action on 8 February 1944, while serving with Company A, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion (Separate), FIFTH U.S. Army, in action near Carano, Italy. Corporal Huff volunteered to lead a six-man patrol with the mission of determining the location and strength of an enemy unit which was delivering fire on the exposed right flank of his company. The terrain over which he had to travel consisted of exposed, rolling ground, affording the enemy excellent visibility. As the patrol advanced, its members were subjected to small arms and machinegun fire and a concentration of mortar fire, shells bursting within five to ten yards of them and bullets striking the ground at their feet. Moving ahead of his patrol, Corporal Huff drew fire from three enemy machineguns and a 20-mm. weapon. Realizing the danger confronting his patrol, he advanced alone under deadly fire through a minefield and arrived at a point within 75 yards of the nearest machinegun position. Under direct fire from the rear machinegun, he crawled the remaining 75 yards to the closest emplacement, killed the crew with his submachine gun and destroyed the gun. During this act he fired from a kneeling position which drew fire from other positions, enabling him to estimate correctly the strength and location of the enemy. Still under concentrated fire, he returned to his patrol and led his men to safety. As a result of the information he gained, a patrol in strength sent out that afternoon, one group under the leadership of Corporal Huff, succeeded in routing an enemy company of 125 men, killing 27 Germans and capturing 21 others, with a loss of only three patrol members. Corporal Huff’s intrepid leadership and daring combat skill reflect the finest traditions of the American infantryman.