The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Otto W. Clemens (ASN: 0-1300761), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company E, 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 11 July 1943, near Gela, Sicily. Observing an abandoned anti-tank gun in an exposed position, Lieutenant Clemens, refusing to order a subordinate to almost certain death, raced across two hundred yards of shell swept ground, seized the gun, swung it into position, and proceeded to open destructive fire upon the Enemy. Lieutenant Clemens fired and reloaded in the face of concentrated enemy artillery and machine gun attack, and stopped at one time only long enough to field strip the block of his weapon when it jammed. In the face of determined enemy attempts to silence him, his efforts proved to be an important factor in enabling the battalion to repel the enemy attack. First Lieutenant Clemens, by his display of extraordinary initiative, marked determination and great personal courage, exemplified the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.