its special fighting abilities, the battalion's color designation, and because the regiment was often lent out and belonged to no one. Commendation Two months later, when the 99th Division was transferred to VII Corps under Maj. Gen. Walter E. Lauer, the commanding officer of V Corps, Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner, wrote him: The 99th Infantry Division arrived in this theater without previous combat experience early in November 1944. It ... was committed to the attack on 12 Dec.... Early on the morning of 16 Dec., the German Sixth Panzer Army launched its now historic counteroffensive which struck your command in the direction of Losheim and Honsfeld... On 18 Dec., the 3rd Battalion of the 395th Infantry gave a magnificent account of itself in an extremely heavy action against the enemy in the Höfen area and was the main factor in stopping the hostile effort to penetrate the lines of the V Corps in the direction of Monschau... The 99th Infantry Division received its baptism of fire in the most bitterly contested battle that has been fought since the current campaign on the European continent began... Your organization gave ample proof of the fact that it is a good hard fighting division and one in which you and each and every member of your command can be justly proud... Major Butler was decorated with the Silver Star, the French Croix de Guerre, the Belgian Fourragère, the Belgian Order de la Couronne, and the Bronze Star Medal with the Oak leaf cluster. Because of Major Butler's success in leading his battalion in successful night attacks during the war, which the U.S. Army handbook did not recommend, the French army later asked him to write a paper on battalion-size night attacks. Campaign streamers The 395th received the following campaign streamers: Unit decorations The entire regiment was recognized with the following unit decorations: Individual decorations Belgian Fourragère 1940. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at the Siegfried Line. Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Elsenborn Crest. 2nd and 3rd Battalion cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes. Medal of Honor Citation to T/Sgt Vernon McGarity, Company L, 393rd Infantry, 99th Infantry Division, for action on 16–17 December 1944. Heraldry and colors Distinctive unit insignia A silver color metal and