WILLIAM JAMES HIGGINS, then Second Lieutenant Infantry, 34th Division, Cassino, Italy, 3 February 1944. For extraordinary heroism in Italy. An Infantry company supported by tanks launched an attack on the town of Cassino, in the face of concentrated shelling and machine gun fire. Approaching the outskirts of the town, the tank column was halted by a deep ditch across the road which formed an impassable barrier. Enemy guns in Cassino opened fire on the leading tanks. Determined to continue the attack, First Lt. Higgins (then second lieutenant), commanding the infantry company, made his way to the barrier to survey the situation. Ordering his men to take cover from the intense fire, he called for engineer assistance and then singlehandedly undertook the task of carrying rocks to fill the ditch. Informed that engineers were not available, Lt. Higgins obtained the aid of three volunteers. Two of his assistants were wounded by gun fire. Securing two more men, Higgins and his small group feverishly worked to provide a crossing for the tanks. The leading tank opened fire on enemy gun positions, and the resulting muzzle blast stunned Higgins, but he quickly recovered his composure and continued his difficult task under increasingly intense enemy shelling. A few minutes later enemy artillery set fire to the first and fourth tanks in the column, but within 30 minutes Higgins had completed the crossing. As a result of the courageous determination and resourcefulness of First Lt. Higgins, the initial advance into the fortress town of Cassino was affected.

Mr. Higgins joined the L.O.V. in 1989 and resided in Missouri.