Mack Hutcherson

The Navy Cross is presented to Mack Hutcherson, Private, U.S. Marine Corps, for distinguished service in the line of his profession under fire while a member of a Marine patrol in contact with a bandit group near Achuapa, Nicaragua on 31 December 1930. the patrol, while on telephone line repair work, was attacked by a vastly superior force of bandits and upon the opening of the bandit fire Private Hutcherson, armed with a Browning Automatic Rifle, took up a position alongside the trail and returned the fire. During the course of the action he was severely wounded in the shoulder, which rendered him unable to support the weight of the Browning. Another member of the patrol gave him a Sub-Thompson. Without regard for his personal safety and in spite of his wounds, Private Hutcherson continued to operate his piece throughout the engagement which lasted for about two and a half hours. His conduct during this action was of the highest order and beyond the ordinary call of duty.