Thomas C. Bruce

The Navy Cross is presented to Thomas C. Bruce, First Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism, coolness and excellent judgment in performance of duty on the occasion of an attack by a vastly superior force on the Marine detachment of which he was a member at Ocotal, Nicaragua, on 16 July 1927, curing the progress of an insurrection in that country. At the beginning of the engagement First Sergeant Bruce placed a Lewis gun in a street swept by machine gun fire and returned the fire until the enemy gun was silenced. Repeatedly during the engagement Sergeant Bruce displayed that high type of courage which characterizes conduct above and beyond the call of duty, and his actions greatly contributed to the success of the small detachment in holding out against the heaviest odds.