Private First Class Robert V. Rock, son of Irvin Rock of Hope, Kansas, was awarded the Silver Star by the commanding general of the 6th infantry division for gallantry in action against the Japanese near Novaliches, Luzon, Philippine Islands. When Japanese artillery set fire to a 105-mm ammunition dump, Robert left the protection of his slit trench and with Japanese shells bursting in the area, extinguished the blaze before it burned through the fiber cases holding the ammunition. He was a member of a field artillery battery in the 53rd field artillery battalion of the Sixth Infantry Division, holder of the continuous combat record in the Southwest Pacific.