John N. Middlemas

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to John N. Middlemas (0-2262644), First Lieutenant (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. First Lieutenant Middlemas distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Tosong-ni, Korea, on 25 April 1951. On that date, the defensive positions of Company A were attacked by a fiercely determined and numerically superior hostile force. The positions were successfully defended, but Lieutenant Middlemas realized that the overwhelming numbers of the enemy would soon make the position untenable. Cognizant of the fact that the hostile troops were preparing for another assault, he unhesitatingly rushed across one hundred and fifty yards of exposed terrain in an effort to secure reinforcements for his hard-pressed men. As he returned with the friendly troops, he was hit and knocked down by the enemy fire. Undaunted, he arose and led the reinforcements to the friendly positions where he stationed them. When the enemy attack came, heavy casualties were inflicted among the hostile troops. Upon receiving the order to withdraw, Lieutenant Middlemas assumed command of the company because the company commander was wounded. Supervising the evacuation of the casualties, he voluntarily led a small group in a rear-guard action in order to cover the withdrawal of the remainder of the company. When the withdrawal had been accomplished, Lieutenant Middlemas began to fall back to the friendly lines but observed a wounded soldier too weak to walk. Despite his own wounds, he helped the stricken man back to the friendly positions.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 989 (December 13, 1951)