The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain (Infantry) Houston O. Dean (ASN: 0-1283923), United States Army, for gallantry in action as a member of the *** Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Division, XII Corps, in action against an armed enemy on 8 February 1945, in Luxembourg and Germany. Captain Dean made three flights across the Sauer River over the heavily fortified Siegfried Line, near Echternach, Luxembourg, in a two-seated liaison artillery plane to drop supplies to a battalion of troops of his Regiment who were isolated by the enemy and had become greatly in need of supplies. Each flight was made with great risk to his life int hat it was necessary to fly through heavy concentrations of artillery fire which were being delivered by American forces and countering fires from enemy artillery and mortars. These concentrations of fire made it necessary for him to fly at extremely low altitudes, from 35 to 50 feet, thus encountering effective small arms and automatic weapons fire from enemy ground forces. He could not return the fire as the plane was not equipped with armament. The supplies which Captain Dean successfully delivered consisted of ammunition, rations, and medical supplies, thus enabling our forces to hold out against enemy counterattacks until reinforcements could reach them. In addition to performing the mission of supplying our troops, Captain Dean made a determined effort by reconnaissance to gain all the information possible relating to the positions of our own and enemy troops and brought back to the Regimental Commander, valuable information of the terrain which furthered the success of the operations against the Siegfried fortifications. His gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.