First Lieutenant CLAUDE E. LOVETT JR., Company G, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, United States Army. For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy. On 12 November 1944, during an assault by the 357th Infantry against an enemy-held hill near Koenigsmacker, France, a group of attacking infantrymen were pinned down in an open field near a barbed wire entanglement by intense enemy machinegun fire. Perceiving the situation, Lieutenant Lovett fearlessly crossed the exposed area to assume command of the isolated group. He boldly charged through the wire toward the enemy, and with accurate rifle fire killed the machine-gunner and forced the rest of the crew to withdraw. Then, though painfully wounded, he courageously led his troops against the new enemy position, inspiring them by his personal bravery to take and consolidate the position. Lieutenant Lovett’s conspicuous heroism and supreme devotion to duty exemplify the highest tradition of the military service.

Mr. Lovett joined the Legion of Valor in 2004 and resides in Texas.