Gerald S. Gordon

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Gerald S. Gordon (16146591), Private First Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as a Medical Aidman with Company L, 143d Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 13 and 14 December 1944 in the vicinity of Mittelwihr, France. When his company command post was attacked, Private First Class Gordon saw his comrades were dangerously outnumbered. Removing the protective insignia of an aid man from his uniform, he joined the fight as a combatant and took up a position at the telephone to coordinate artillery fire with the rifle fire of infantrymen in the building. As the enemy closed in, he personally directed mortar fire upon self-propelled guns, machine-gun positions, and hostile infantrymen. Seven times he emerged from the command post to treat the wounded and remove them to safety, on one occasion successfully bringing a comrade back under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire from a position only 25 yards from the enemy. After reconnoitering a route of withdrawal across an adjacent field under enemy mortar and machine-gun fire, Private First Class Gordon returned and helped repulse an assault by killing an enemy bazooka man and two Germans who were about to set up a machine gun. In an effort to reestablish communications, he volunteered to carry a telephone line across a field swept by enemy fire. He was reported missing in action from this mission. The heroic conduct of Private Gordon inspired the defenders of an important position at a critical time, inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy, and permitted the safe withdrawal of eight of his comrades. His intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 36th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.