The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Roy E. Nelson (ASN: 36752493), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company C, 142d Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, in action on 9 January 1945, in France. When Company B was threatened by a large scale enemy counterattack, the 3d Platoon of Company C, in which Sergeant Nelson led the 3d Squad, advanced down a mined road under hostile artillery fire to help drive back the attackers. Upon learning the enemy’s exact location, Sergeant Nelson coordinated his squad with the other two squads in assaulting a hostile observation post in a wooded sector. After reducing the position, he led his men in an attack against the well-camouflaged positions of the main force of the enemy. Braving machine gun and automatic weapons fire, he directed his squad in firing on the enemy troops and personally killed three of the hostile soldiers. His aggressive leadership contributed materially to the success of the attack in which 37 of the enemy were killed and 30 captured, without a single casualty to the 3d Platoon.