(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Theodore Spear Bell, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Headquarters Company, 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces near Ishimmi Ridge, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, on 17 and 18 May 1945. On the night of 17 May 1945, while commanding a rifle company, Lieutenant Bell led 204 men of his regiment in a night attack on the 350-foot rise a third of a mile in front of Shuri, reaching the crest and establishing positions. With dawn the Japanese responded with a heavy mortar and artillery barrage, with small arms and machine gun fire from both flanks established on the nearby Shuri heights. By early morning, all but one of the element’s 60-mm. mortars had been destroyed, and most of its radio’s had been knocked out. Surrounded and cut off for three days, Lieutenant Bell and his 31 surviving men held out. First Lieutenant Bell’s extraordinary heroism, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 77th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.