- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Sergeant
- Unit:
- 6th Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division "The Big Red One", U.S. Army
- Awarded on:
- July 8th, 1944
"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with 6th Battalion, 33d Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 7 and 8 January 1944, near Ceppagna, Italy. Sergeant Fines and a small group of men were sent forward to augment the defense of a critical hill crest which had been won from the enemy. Carrying his machine gun up the hill, Sergeant Fines found the crest defended by one machine gun and two riflemen. Three enemy machine guns, one on each flank and one to the front, opposed the defenders; grazing small arms fire swept over the hill, and intermittent mortar fire crashed along the crest. Sergeant Fines edged his way to a nearby enemy machine gun pit, removed the body of the dead gunner, and set up his gun. Ignoring sniper fire, he quickly silenced the enemy machine gun on his right flank. His fire, coordinated with that of the other defenders, silenced the enemy weapon to the front. Confined to a cramped and exposed position, in sub-freezing temperature, he maintained a vigilant defense of his position through the succeeding thirty-six hours. When his own ammunition was exhausted, he emplaced a discarded enemy machine gun and continued to fire. On one occasion he crawled to a position to his front and secured more of the enemy's ammunition to use in his weapon. He repulsed seven counter attacks on his own position and in addition denied the enemy an important approach to Mount Majo. When he was finally relieved, the bodies of eleven Germans lay in front of his position. Sergeant FINES provided the hub of the entire defense of the sector, and his courageous performance under fire reflects credit upon himself and the Allied Forces."
Posthumously awarded (Headquarters, Fifth U.S. Army, General Orders No. 94)
Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
