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) John E. Ebel, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with an Infantry Company of the 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces in the vicinity of Verona, Italy, on 25 April 1945. Moving north from the Po River bridgehead toward Verona on the morning of 25 April, Lieutenant Ebel’s platoon quickly crossed the flat valley, meeting only scattered resistance until confronted with German machinegun fire coming from a barn in the vicinity of Tartar Creek. Directing his men to cover him by rifle fire, Lieutenant Ebel sprinted 75 yards across flat, bullet-swept terrain smashed in the barn door and mortally wounded the German officer manning the machinegun. His platoon quickly resumed its relentless advance. Four American tank destroyers and an armored reconnaissance car arrive a half hour later and Lieutenant Ebel and his men climbed aboard to speed their pursuit of the Germans. By noon he led his platoon into Nogara and captured 40 Germans without a fight. Still mounted on armored vehicles, his platoon struck north from Nogara but soon encountered strong anti-tank and automatic weapons fire which force the Infantrymen to dismount and seek protection in a roadside ditch. When a direct hit set fire to the reconnaissance car, Lieutenant Ebel ran to it and dragged three seriously wounded men to safety, although he was exposed to savage machinegun and 20-mm. cannon fire and fragments from ammunition exploding in the vehicle. Ordered to encircle the resistance, the Americans launched an attack along a creek bed and moved to within 100 yards of four German machineguns. Intense enemy fire wounded the company commander and two enlisted men and forced the other men to seek protection. Lieutenant Ebel immediately contacted the tank destroyers by radio, adjusted their supporting fire and led his men forward in an all-out assault. Inspired by their officer’s fearlessness, the platoon stormed the positions, killing eight Germans and capturing 15 more. Leaving the prisoners under guard, the platoon advanced another five miles aboard the armored vehicles to launch a series of smashing attacks in which Lieutenant Ebel played a brilliant role. Twenty minutes were required to take the gown of Pelegrino, where a road black defended by two machineguns and a 20-mm. cannon forced the Americans to dismount again. Their officer was in the thick of the fight in which two Germans were killed, eight were wounded and the six-man cannon crew captured. At Isola Descola, Lieutenant Ebel led his men in a frontal attack against a German road bloc position where they killed five Germans, made prisoners of 12 and destroyed an armored halftrack with grenades. After flanking an extremely strong road block at Buttapiestra later in the afternoon, the Infantry officer left his men in the town’s outskirts and went forward alone to reconnoiter. He rounded the corner of a building, encountered a sentry and knocked the German unconscious with a butt stroke with his carbine. By the time his men reached him, Lieutenant Ebel had captured 12 Germans in a house right behind two 80-mm. guns loaded and trained on the road. He then led his platoon through the town in a sharp fight in which they killed 18 Germans and captured 35 more. At this point, when Lieutenant Ebel’s Division Commander urged complete exploitation of his remarkable break-through, he led his platoon in an attack on Ca David Ð capture of which required but ten minutes. His men grabbed two 20-mm. cannons and many prisoners. The weary platoon was led into the outskirts of Verona just as night was falling after a grueling attack of 37 miles in twelve-and-a-half hours. Lieutenant Ebel opened the battle for the important city by killing a German officer who resisted capture. Minutes later, while interrogating a group of 25 prisoners, he was attacked from the rear by an armed German and in the ensuing struggle, killed the German with his carbine. Reorganizing his tank force, now depleted by casualties and men left behind as prisoner guards, Lieutenant Ebel divided his men into five groups to set up road blocks and patrol the city. Lieutenant Ebel personally led his men into a final, hand-to-hand fight and himself killed two more Germans when an enemy force attacked his main road block an hour before midnight. This officer brought new glory to the fighting history of the 88th Division. First Lieutenant Ebel’s extraordinary heroism, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 88th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.