The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Leo U. Goracke (ASN: 32028729), United States Army, for gallantry in action on 27 April 1945, while serving with Company B, 752d Tank Battalion, 88th Infantry Division, in the vicinity of Fontaniva, Italy. While consolidating a bridgehead across the Brenta River, an enemy counterattack launched toward the rear threatened to surround the company. Noticing the situation and without orders or assistance from other vehicles, Sergeant Goracke moved back down the road in an attempt to halt the attack. Under intense small arms fire, he dismounted from his tank to clear the road of vehicles. Then with his tank, he proceeded toward the enemy, who, armed with bazookas, offered fanatical resistance. Moving forward relentlessly in the face of intense enemy fire, Sergeant Goracke killed or wounded approximately seventy-five of the enemy. The action of Sergeant Goracke saved the company from a desperate situation and prevented their being cut off from friendly forces.