[The Olney Enterprise (Olney, Texas) · Fri, May 4, 1945 · Page 6]  [PDF]

Medal Presentation
General Gavin personally pinned Sgt Boone's medal on during a ceremony in Frankfurt.

With 82nd Airborne Div. In Germany. --- Pitching grenades at point-blank range into a passing German column was just one of the tricks Sergeant Joe Boone, of Olney [TX], pulled out of his [bag] in fighting a delaying action that earned him a Silver Star Medal.
   A squad leader in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Sgt Boone received the award for "gallantry in action" during his regiment's campaign in Belgium.
   Sgt Boone, ordered to fight a delaying action with the squad to "cover the withdrawal of his platoon

to a new position, scaled a cliff overlooking the road used by the attacking Germans.  He pitched a half dozen grenades into their ranks as they passed beneath him, bringing the entire advance to a halt.
   For an hour he and his squad resisted the advance of the enemy, placing a heavy volume of fire upon the troops and pinning them down.
   Then Sgt Boone withdrew his squad and safely led it through heavy artillery and small arms fire to the assembly point.  His determined resistance prevented enemy interference with the withdrawal of his platoon.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal during the Normandy operations.
   He is the son of Mrs. James A. Boone, 311 South Avenue G, Olney, and attended Jacksboro High School, where he was a member of the football team.