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), [then Second Lieutenant] Alex E. Shear (Sabo) (ASN: 0-1030711), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with the 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Separate), in action against enemy forces in the vicinity of Velletri, Italy, on 28 May 1944. While on foot a foot reconnaissance for gun positions, First Lieutenant Shear encountered an enemy Tiger tank immediately to his front. Unobserved by the enemy crew, First Lieutenant Shear worked his way to the side of the tank and challenged the commander who was in the turret. Startled, the commander withdrew into the vehicle, whereupon First Lieutenant Shear jumped onto the tank and emptied his carbine into the turret, killing two Germans and wounding another. At this moment, a crew member in another enemy tank thirty yards away opened fire on First Lieutenant Shear with a machine pistol and threw grenades at him. First Lieutenant Shear made his way back to his unit and obtained a rifle and a rocket launcher operator. Returning to the enemy armor, he and his assistant encountered three Germans. First Lieutenant Shear fired his rifle at them, killing two and wounding the third. Approaching the enemy armor, which was withdrawing, his assistant fired three rockets at one of the tanks, making three direct hits. The courageous actions of First Lieutenant Shear resulted in routing two enemy tanks.