Nicholas Smith, Jr.

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Nicholas Smith, Jr. (RA33753369), Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Sergeant First Class Smith distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Kunuri, Korea, on 25 November 1950. On that date, Sergeant First Class Smith and a small group of men were defending a hill vital to the battalion defense and to the protection of the Battalion Command Post. When a numerically superior enemy force launched a fanatical bayonet assault against the hill in an effort to overrun the command post area, Sergeant Smith directed the men with him to fall back and establish a new defense line while he remained on the hill to furnish covering fire for the operation. Choosing an exposed position that offered a clear field of fire on the advancing enemy, he placed such accurate fire on the hostile force that seventeen were killed and the remainder forced to withdraw. The extraordinary heroism displayed by Sergeant First Class Smith in steadfastly holding his position in the face of such overwhelming odds prevented the command post from being overrun.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 602 (August 1, 1951)