Francis Loviska

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Francis Loviska, Private First Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Battery B, 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. Private First Class Loviska distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Yong-dong, Korea, on 24 July 1950. While serving as a forward artillery observer attached to Company E, 8th Cavalry Regiment, Private Loviska and his comrades were cut off behind enemy lines by a machine-gun, pinning the unit to the ground. Private Loviska volunteered to carry ammunition for a bazooka team which was seeking to destroy the machine-gun position, constituting a part of the road block. Moving forward of an infantry platoon position, the team fired upon the road block and knocked out three machine-guns. Before it could deliver more fire, the bazooka team, except for Private Loviska, was killed. He immediately picked up the bazooka and single-handedly destroyed two more machine-gun positions, enabling his unit to withdraw without further opposition.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 114 (March 4, 1951), as amended by General Orders No. 212 (1951)