Samuel G. Conley

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Samuel G. Conley, Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with the 274th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 19 February 1945, near Saarbrucken, Germany. During a bitter battle for the Siegfried Line defenses, atop the strategically Important Kreutzberg Ridge, Colonel Conley maneuvered under intense artillery barrages to within thirty yards of enemy entrenchments. Miraculously eluding hostile machine-gun and mortar fire for a sustained period, he dashed across the front lines, recruiting a tank and twenty-two infantrymen for an assault on the enemy. He then led a charge over barbed-wire entanglements into the German-held trenches, capturing the position and twenty-six prisoners. Colonel Conley’s superb leadership, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 70th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.