(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: 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 Captain (Infantry), [then Lieutenant] Brennan S. Goltry, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as 2d Platoon Leader, Company C, 2d Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, during combat operations in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 2 February 2007, in Iraq. On that evening, Captain Goltry was in command of the second truck in his platoon’s five-vehicle convoy as it moved through Sammara, just north of Baghdad. Though the sun had set, a moonlit night provided little cover for the convoy–perfect conditions for an ambush. Suddenly, in a complex “L-shaped” attack, enemy combatants unleashed a barrage of machine-gun fire at the convoy, disabling the lead humvee and wounding its gunner. Captain Goltry saw his fellow paratrooper’s vulnerable position, and realized that the only way to protect the wounded soldier would be to imperil his own safety. He ordered his driver to move his vehicle in front of the damaged truck to create a buffer and draw away fire. Captain Goltry opened his door to return fire, even as his vehicle bore the brunt of the enemy’s bullets. He was shot twice in his left leg, but this didn’t stop or apparently even slow him down. He jumped from his vehicle, rallied his men, and killed a hostile combatant as he led the offensive against the ambush. Rather than retreat, the squads pursued the enemies for several hundred meters and took over strategic positions as they cleared nearby houses. These efforts yielded the capture of an enemy combatant. Captain Goltry refused to be evacuated in a medical vehicle and instead stayed with his platoon. Captain Goltry’s gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.