The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant Colonel (Signal Corps) Alvin Lee Burke (ASN: 0-21148), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving as Signal Officer of the 80th Infantry Division, in connection with military operations against an enemy of the United States on 10 February 1945 in Germany. On that date, during the crossing of the Sauer River near Dillingen, Germany, all attempts to establish vital wire communication with an engineer company at a proposed bridge site had been thwarted by the intense enemy artillery, mortar, and small arms fire from the Siegfried Line fortifications overlooking the area. Lieutenant Colonel Burke, Division Signal Officer, and his driver, after reconnoitering a route of approach, braved the hostile fire directed at his position to lay a wire line to the engineers, using a friendly tank as a shield. Lieutenant Colonel Burke’s courage, initiative, and supreme devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.