Otto William See

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Otto William See (RA13704655), Sergeant First Class, 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 Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Sergeant First Class See distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 11 March 1968 while serving as the observer on the lead ship of an aero-scout team reconnoitering an area in Quang Tri Province suspected to contain an enemy regimental headquarters. After locating the communists’ barracks, the team called in armed helicopters which fired rockets into the buildings. As the scout ships returned to the area to assess the damage, they and the troop commander’s helicopter came under intense automatic weapons fire. The troop commander and his pilot were wounded, and their craft crashed. Sergeant See immediately volunteered to attempt a rescue. Because his helicopter was unable to land near the crash site, he jumped from its skid as it hovered over the wreckage. The downed craft had begun to burn, and its still running engine was spewing fuel on the spreading flames. Sergeant See climbed inside the ship and pulled the wounded out one at a time. As he started to carry the casualties up a ravine for extraction by a waiting aircraft, a North Vietnamese company began to advance on his position to cut off his maneuver. Armed only with a pistol, he returned their fire while continuing to assist the injured up the hill. Upon reaching the landing zone, he put the casualties safely aboard the ship and remained behind with some of its crew members, fighting off the aggressors until another rescue helicopter arrived. Platoon Sergeant See’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 5200 (November 8, 1968)