William W. Woodside

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to William W. Woodside, First Lieutenant (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commanding Officer of Company L, 3d Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment (Task Force 777), 1st Cavalry Division. First Lieutenant Woodside distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces at Hambung-ni, Korea, n the night of 26 – 27 September 1950.0. On 26 September 1950, Lieutenant Woodside moved northward in a motor column to link with other United Nations elements in Korea. Shortly after midnight as the column entered the town of Hambung-ni, ninety-eight miles behind enemy lines, it was suddenly ambushed by ten enemy T-34 tanks with infantry support. In the pitch darkness and under an intense hail of machine-gun and tank cannon fire, Lieutenant Woodside quickly organized a group of four enlisted men, armed with grenades, and led them against a tank. Reaching the tank, he hurled grenades into the open hatch until the crew was silenced, enabling final destruction by a comrade who poured gasoline into the hot engine, causing the tank to explode. Moving quickly to the front of the column, reorganizing the confused troops as he went, he led them into the thick of the fighting. He then assisted in destroying a tank that had smashed through the head of the column and then, standing in an exposed position approximately twenty yards form enemy foot soldiers, he fired his carbine with such fearless tenacity that they dispersed wildly. At daybreak, after the enemy tanks had withdrawn, a hostile machine-gun crew opened intense fire on the column. Unhesitatingly, again with complete disregard for his life, Lieutenant Woodside led two men in a spectacular charge, overrunning the position and killing the crew. First Lieutenant Woodside, through his tenacious intrepidity, sustained courage, and inspiring gallantry contributed materially to the successful counterattack of the enemy ambush and continuation of the column’s movement to accomplish its objective.