Martin H. Beach

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Martin H. Beach (0-5425474), Captain (Field Artillery), [then First Lieutenant], U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Battery C, 2d Battalion, 77th Artillery, 25th Infantry Division. Captain Beach distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions from 23 to 25 February 1969 while serving as commander of a battery section of Fire Support Base Mahoney II in Bin Duong Province. When the camp came under enemy rocket and mortar attack, Captain Beach ran through the barrage to alert his gun crews. A rocket- propelled grenade stuck within the parapet of one howitzer, wounding all the members in the section. Captain Beach immediately assisted the wounded and then manned the howitzer until a new crew could be formed. Then, while moving form section to section he was wounded in the foot by fragmentation from a rocket grenade. Despite his painful wound, he took charge of a reaction force and assaulted the enemy who had overrun a perimeter bunker. After rescuing the fortification, he directed the firing of beehive rounds on the advancing enemy. Only after the assailants had withdrawn did he allow himself to be medically treated. On 25 February, when the foe renewed the assault, Captain Beach again braved hostile bombardment to supervise the direct fire on the attacking ground forces. When the communists threatened to penetrate the perimeter, he led the reaction force and one howitzer section in thwarting the attempt. While on the perimeter, he was responsible for eliminating two enemy automatic weapons positions. He continued to move about the battery, directing and supervising defensive firing until the enemy broke off the attack. Captain Beach’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself and the U.S. Army.
Headquarters, US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 2246 (June 25, 1969)