The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Howard C. Pitts, United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with the 921st Field Artillery Battalion, 96th Infantry Division, in action against the enemy on 9 April 1945, at Okinawa. As a result of heavy enemy mortar and artillery fire the morning of 9 April 1945, five men of Sergeant Pitts’ six-man Forward Observer section including the Commanding Officer and himself, were wounded. No help being available to Sergeant Pitts in removing the wounded and realizing that immediate medical attention was necessary to save the lives of two seriously wounded, he began to evacuate the wounded one at a time, from cover to cover, across the area under constant observation by the enemy and swept by heavy enemy machinegun and small arms fire. Although the wounded officer and one other man of the section went for help, the situation was such that all attempts to reach them were frustrated. Sergeant Pitts was forced to brave short range enemy fire repeatedly in moving each wounded closer to comparative safety. Darkness fell and he carried the wounded into a small cave. Completely unarmed, Sergeant Pitts elected to remain with the wounded, although he could have escaped under cover od darkness. Just before daybreak, Sergeant Pitts began moving the wounded toward his own lines and in spite of great physical exhaustion and suffering from his own wounds, managed to bring the three men safely through the enemy outpost into a protection area from where they were evacuated. His gallantry and great devotion to duty served as an inspiration to the officers and men of his section and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the Military Forces of the United States.