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 Captain (Medical Corps) Charles Donovan Tool (ASN: 0-475899), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as a Medical Officer with the 155th Field Artillery Battalion, 36th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces in the vicinity of Cassino, Italy, on 18 March 1944. An urgent call for aid was received from a battery that was suffering many casualties during a heavy enemy counter-battery barrage. Captain Tool drove his ambulance into position in the midst of the shelling in order to attend the wounded. After treating some of the more seriously wounded who had been moved to a stone culvert for protection, he made his way through flying shell fragments to care for men in a gun pit where many hits were being sustained. Finding a survivor who was seriously wounded, he immediately set to work to save him, oblivious to the crash of incoming rounds. Fragments from a shell bursting nearly struck Captain Tool and pierced his spine. Captain Tool calmly continued working to save the wounded man, and only after he was certain that all casualties had received treatment did he allow his own wound to be dressed. By his courageous performance under fire, Captain Tool saved the lives of eleven men. His fearless calm gave comfort to the wounded and contributed to the high morale of the troops under fire.