"On the night of March 12 13, 1944, Col. Etheredge was assistant commander of a combat patrol when it came under heavy machine gun fire north of Carano, Italy; disregarding the bullets flying all about him, he personally led his squad in a successful assault on the machine gun; when a second machine gun erupted, he again braved the barrage as he directed his men in laying down fire, allowing the main part of the patrol to advance against the gun and silence it."