- SURNAME
Childs
- FORENAME
Donald
- UNIT
5 SF Group
- RANK
Specialist Fifth Class
- NUMBER
19822262
- AWARD
Silver Star
- PLACE
South Vietnam 1968
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
awarded for Duc Lap
CITATION:
Silver Star : The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Specialist Fifth Class Donald C. Childs, II (ASN: RA-19822262), United States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force while serving with Detachment A-239, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, in the Republic of Vietnam. Specialist Fifth Class Childs distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions from 23 to 26 August 1968 during an attack by an estimated North Vietnamese Army regiment on a Special Forces camp. Harassing the compound for several hours with rockets and mortars, the enemy intensified their fire and followed with a fierce assault which overtook one of the two hills in the camp. Two mobile strike force companies arrived to reinforce the beleaguered defenders. During a day of desperate fighting, the combined forces of the camp succeeded in forcing the enemy to withdraw, leaving behind over three hundred dead and over two hundred weapons. Throughout the entire struggle and in particular when death seemed imminent, Specialist Childs' determination, courage, and leadership were instrumental in avoiding defeat. When the enemy began to overrun a crucial section of the perimeter, he rallied the defenders and stopped the threatened breakthrough. He then led a ten-man team in an attack on the closest portion of the enemy hill. Defying a hail of hostile bullets, he destroyed bunkers held by the North Vietnamese with hand grenades and light antitank weapons. Seeing a wounded comrade who lay completely exposed to the aggressors' fire, he made several daring attempts to rescue the man and finally succeeded in bringing him to safety. Specialist Fifth Class Childs' gallantry in action was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
WEB LINKS:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/501358
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