The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Specialist Fourth Class Larry E. Godlewski (ASN: RA-11678082), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company D, 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 3d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Specialist Four Godlewski distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 6 November 1968 as a team leader during a search and clear operation near Landing Zone Billie. In the initial contact with a large, well-armed North Vietnamese Army force, part of Specialist Godlewski’s company was pinned down and eight men in the point squad were wounded. Rushing forward through the deadly barrage, he placed suppressive fire on the aggressors which killed two of them and enabled his comrades to extract the casualties. During a lull in the fighting, he and another man volunteered to accompany the company commander on a reconnaissance and the three men advanced into the thick underbrush. Spotting an enemy bunker, they charged the position and succeeded in destroying it, but the company commander was hit by hostile fire. As Specialist Godlewski and his companion ran to their fallen commander, heavy fire erupted from a second enemy emplacement. Specialist Godlewski used his body to shield the stricken officer, receiving wounds from a hostile rocket, and after two medics arrived, he positioned himself in front of them to place effective protective fire. The commander was declared dead and was being moved to the rear when another rocket suddenly exploded, killing one of the medics and wounding the others. Suffering from multiple fragmentation wounds, Specialist Godlewski crawled to one of his injured comrades and managed to drag him from under the communists’ fusillade to the evacuation site. Specialist Four Godlewski’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.