MCDONALD, MARTIN TERRANCE
MCDONALD, MARTIN TERRANCE
Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment,
173rd Airborne Brigade,
Date of Action: April 10, 1971
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Martin
Terrance McDonald, Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism
in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile
force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Headquarters and
Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade.
Specialist Four McDonald distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions
on 10 April 1971. On that date Specialist McDonald was serving as a medical
aidman for a six man reconnaissance team on an offensive mission in Phu My
District, when the team was taken under fire by an estimated platoon-sized enemy
force. The enemy-initiated contact included rockets, machinegun and automatic
small arms fire. In the initial hail of fire, the team leader was severely
wounded, and the remainder of the team was halted a short distance away, leaving
him in an open, vulnerable position. Specialist McDonald, although wounded
himself during the initial contact, realized the extreme danger his team leader
was in and, with total disregard for his personal safety, exposed himself to the
intense enemy fire and ran to the aid of his fallen team leader. He then placed
himself between the team leader and the enemy and began returning fire. An
incoming rocket landed nearby, wounding him for the second time as the force of
the explosion knocked him to the ground. He immediately recovered and rolled
over on his team leader to protect him from the enemy fire. Realizing that
further movement was impossible, Specialist McDonald stood up between the enemy
and the severely wounded man and began placing accurate semi-automatic fire upon
the enemy positions, until he was mortally wounded by an enemy rocket.
Specialist Four McDonald's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the
cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military
service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States
Army.
Department
of the Army, General Orders No. 32 (August 3, 1972)
Home Town: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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