The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lance Corporal John Terry Adams (MCSN: 2033889), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with Company C, First Platoon, First Reconnaissance Battalion, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in the Republic of Vietnam on 16 June 1966. Corporal Adams was a member of a reconnaissance team occupying an observation post on Hill 488, Quang Tin Province, deep in enemy controlled territory. During the early morning hours the platoon of eighteen men was subjected to an intense assault by an estimated North Vietnamese unit of battalion size. As the members of his team were withdrawing to a pre-designated defensive perimeter, Corporal Adams braved the withering small-arms fire and returned accurate rifle fire which momentarily slowed the enemy assault force and enabled his companions to reach the relative safety of the defensive position. Firing all his ammunition, Corporal Adams fearlessly charged directly into the assaulting horde and, using his rifle as a club, killed two of the enemy soldiers before he was struck down by automatic weapons fire. Severely wounded, he once again engaged an enemy soldier in hand-to-hand combat and, in a final effort, killed his foe. As a result of his courageous action and fighting spirit, his comrades were able to rally and withstand the onslaught of the numerically superior enemy. Corporal Adams upheld the finest traditions of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.