Two U.S. heroes decorated for bravery in Italy. Private First Class Alton W. Knappenberger (left), of the U.S.

Two U.S. heroes decorated for bravery in Italy. Private First Class Alton W. Knappenberger (left), of the U.S. Third Infantry Regiment, and Sergeant Paul B. Huff, of the U.S. 509th Paratrooper Infantry Battalion, American soldier-heroes of the Allied War of Liberation against the Germans in Italy, received the Congressional Medal of Honor, highest U.S. military award for valor. They were decorated in the Rome area by Allied Fifth Army in Italy. Private Knappenberger distinguished himself during a hard-fought battle near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, ion February 1, 1944. His citation says: Under tank and artillery shell fire, with shells bursting within 15 yards (14 metres) of him, he held his precarious position and fired at all enemy infantrymen. His intrepid action disrupted of a German unit facing the Americans near Carano, Italy, on February 8. 1944. He crawled alone under direct enemy fire to a point behind a German gun and killed its entire crew. He kept firing in a deliberate effort to draw enemy fire and learn the strength and position of the other Germans.