George W. Powell

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to George W. Powell, Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Verdun, France, October 12, 1918. After all the men of his command except himself and two other soldiers had been killed or wounded, Sergeant Powell took charge of a machine-gun and remained in an isolated position for four days, keeping his men constantly in action and inflicting many casualties on the enemy.

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to George W. Powell (0-5434118), First Lieutenant (Field Artillery), U.S. Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force while serving with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery Regiment, 108th Field Artillery Group, in the Republic of Vietnam. First Lieutenant Powell distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 28 April 1969 as fire direction center officer at his battery’s location in Quang Tri Province. Approximately one hundred and fifty North Vietnamese supported by mortars, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades, launched a massive ground attack. When he found that communications to the howitzers had been destroyed, Lieutenant Powell risked the Communists’ fusillade going from gun to gun supervising the return fire. Noticing that an M548 cargo vehicle on the perimeter was burning and the position had been left unattended, he returned to the fire direction center through an enemy machine gun barrage and took two men with a machine gun back to the vehicle where he placed them to provide effective fire on the foe. He then returned to a howitzer and continued to supervise fire against the North Vietnamese until they broke contact and fled. First Lieutenant Powell’s gallantry in action was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, U.S. Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 2043 (June 9, 1969)