Courtenay CHIRM Davis, Jr.

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Courtney Chirm Davis, Jr. (0-59384), Second Lieutenant (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as a Platoon Leader with Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment (Infantry), 1st Cavalry Division. Second Lieutenant Davis distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Waegwan, Korea, on 13 September 1950. On 12 September 1950 the enemy, in overwhelmingly superior numbers, attacked a hill occupied by Company B and forced them to withdraw. On the following day, Company B initiated a counterattack to regain the lost ground, and Lieutenant Davis was assigned the mission of leading his platoon in the attack. Devoid of cover or concealment, he fearlessly led his men up the hill toward the heavily armed, well- entrenched enemy. As they struggled upward, they were subjected to intense machine-gun and small-arms fire. Shouting words of encouragement to his platoon, Lieutenant Davis courageously exposed himself to the withering fire, spurring his men to greater effort. As the attack continued against almost insurmountable odds, he was seriously wounded. Refusing to leave his men, he half-hobbled, half-crawled toward the objective, valiantly directing the assault until he was mortally wounded by a burst of enemy machine-gun fire. Inspired by the dauntless actions of their leader, the men of Lieutenant Davis’ platoon charged the enemy emplacement with such fury that the hostile troops became disorganized and fled in disorder.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 267, (May 4, 1951)