Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

2nd Lieutenant

Unit:

Battery A, 398th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 8th Armored Division "Thundering Herd", U.S. Army (Battery A, 398th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 8th Armored Division "Thundering Herd", U.S. Army)

G.O. No. 8, Hq. 8th Armd. Div., 13 March, 1945, Page 1.
The Silver Star is presented to Mike P. Cokinos (0-1185167), Second Lieutenant (Field Artillery), U.S. Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Battery A, 398th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 8th Armored Division, in Germany on 26 January 1945. Assigned as Forward Observer, Lieutenant Cokinos successfully directed artillery fire for a period in excess of fifty hours, despite hostile artillery, mortar and small arms fire. He located an aid station and brought up aid men and litters to evacuate the wounded. When the Infantry Battalion Commander was wounded by mortar fire, he administered first aid and covered the fallen officer with his own body, using his own helmet to protect the commander's face until the mortar barrage slackened. This gallantry was above the call of duty and reflects great credit upon himself and the Military Forces of the United States. Hometown: Beaumont, Texas.