The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Howard W. Sanford (ASN: 31410324), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company F, 2d Battalion, 255th Infantry Regiment, 63d Infantry Division, in action on 10 April 1945, in the vicinity of Guthof, Germany. Private First Class Sanford, with one other man, was manning a machine gun protecting the left flank of the company when the enemy launched a heavy counterattack. Enemy riflemen attacked them with hand grenades, seriously wounding Private First Class Sanford and blowing off his companion’s arm. When the other man fell unconscious from loss of blood, Private First Class Sanford fired the weapon until he no longer had the strength to continue. When three enemy approached him as he lay in his foxhole, he killed all of them with his pistol. Private First Class Sanford’s outstanding bravery and devotion to duty under enemy fire reflect credit upon himself and upon the Armed Forces of the United States.