Albert B. V. Macdonald
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 426 (June 13, 1951) | General Orders No. 426 (June 13, 1951)
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Albert B. V. MacDonald, Second Lieutenant (Field Artillery), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Battery C, 37th Field Artillery Battalion, 2d Infantry Division. Second Lieutenant MacDonald distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Chipyong-ni, Korea, on 1 February 1951. On that date, an enemy force estimated at one regiment launched an attack against the 3d Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, and succeeded in forcing a breach in the line defended by Company I. When the artillery forward observer with Company I was killed early in the attack, Lieutenant MacDonald volunteered to join the company as forward artillery observer. Realizing the importance of close-in artillery fire, he moved to an exposed position with the left flank of the platoon on Hill 333 from which he could accurately adjust artillery fire on the advancing enemy. As the intensity of the fighting increased, Lieutenant MacDonald refused to leave his observation post but continued directing artillery fire on the enemy troops until they approached within twenty-five yards of his position. When the platoon fell back to the base of the hill and reorganized for a bayonet charge on the enemy, Lieutenant MacDonald joined the riflemen in the assault. Reaching his former position, he found that his telephone and radio had been destroyed by enemy fire; however, he effectively continued to direct orders orally, calling for artillery fire to within twenty-five yards of his position. When the enemy launched a counterattack and again drove the platoon from the hill, Lieutenant MacDonald rejoined the riflemen in a second bayonet charge that carried them to the crest of the hill. Five times the hill changed hands five times, and each time Lieutenant MacDonald would remain in position directing artillery fire orders until the close proximity of the enemy rendered artillery fire useless, then fall back and rejoin the platoon to help retake the hill in hand-to-hand combat. His courageous actions and tenacity during the bitter engagement were instrumental in the final success of the platoon in driving the numerically superior enemy from the hill and securing the position.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 426 (June 13, 1951)
