HQ US ARMY, VIETNAM,
APO San Francisco 96375
10 September 1968
GENERAL ORDERS
NUMBER 4276
AWARD OF THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
1. TC 320. The following AWARD is announced posthumously.
Gerry A. HARR, First Lieutenant (Infantry), U.S. Army
HQ and HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry
| Awarded: |
Distinguished Service Cross |
| Date action: |
7 April 1968 |
| Theater: |
Republic of Vietnam |
| Reason: |
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Gerry A. Harr, First Lieutenant (Infantry), 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 Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, 3d Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. First Lieutenant Harr distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 7 April 1968 as a platoon leader during a reconnaissance-in-force operation near the Song Be River in Chon Thon Province. Upon entering a hostile base camp, his battalion came in contact with a large enemy force concealed in well fortified positions. Lieutenant Harr's platoon was part of the lead element and came under heavy automatic weapons and small arms fire. As assault was made on the Viet Cong, but it was halted by an intense enemy barrage. Moving far forward, Lieutenant Harr boldly exposed himself to a hail of bullets to fire an antitank weapon at a key bunker. Unable to destroy the strongly built fortification, he charged through a hail of fire and hurled a hand grenade into the bunker, and then crawled inside to insure its occupants were dead. Receiving fire from a previously undetected position, he assaulted it also, slaying one Viet Cong with rifle fire and one with a grenade. He then entered the emplacement, again making certain no resistance remained. His example inspired the men of his unit to unleash an assault which overran the enemy base camp. First Lieutenant Harr'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.
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