The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Specialist Fifth Class Dwight Wayne Birdwell, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Troop C, 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division in the Republic of Vietnam on 31 January, 1968. On this date, Troop C was ordered to move south to help repel an enemy attack on Tan Son Nhut Airbase. As the Troop C column of tanks and armored personnel carriers approached the west gate of Tan Son Nhut Airbase, it came under intense enemy fire from a building to its right. Unbeknown to C Troop, it had driven directly into an enemy force consisting of three battalions. The column tried to push through the initial attack but the lead tank, crippled by a rocket-propelled grenade explosion, was blocking the way forward. TroopC immediately came under heavy enemy fire from both sides of the road. Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell, upon seeing that his tank commander was wounded by enemy fire, immediately went to his aid. Under intense enemy fire, he lowered the injured tank commander to the ground, and moved him to safety. Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell then, with complete disregard for his own safety, mounted the tank and assumed the tank commander’s position. Standing in the tank commander’s hatch with the upper half of his body exposed to heavy enemy fire, Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell used the tank’s .50 caliber machine gun and 90mm main gun to suppress the enemy attack. With the ammunition for the 90mm main gun exhausted, he continued to fire the .50 caliber machine gun until it overheated. At this point, Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell, rather than abandoning his position, continued to engage the enemy with his M-16 rifle, sometimes exposing his entire body to enemy fire in order to engage the enemy from a better vantage point. When a U.S. helicopter crashed nearby, Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell, under withering enemy fire, dismounted and moved to the helicopter where he retrieved two M-60 machine guns and ammunition. After giving one M-60 and ammunition to a fellow soldier, he remounted his tank and used the other M-60 to again engage the enemy. Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell continued to engage the enemy with complete disregard for his own safety until the M-60 he was firing was hit by enemy fire. Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell, now wounded in the face, neck, chest, and arms, dismounted the tank but refused to be medically evacuated. Instead, Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell, under enemy fire, rallied fellow soldiers to advance toward the front of the armored column where they set up a defensive position by a large tree. From this position, he and the other soldiers engaged the enemy with M-16 fire and grenades. As the enemy fire lessened, Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell gathered ammunition from disabled vehicles and helped wounded soldiers move to safer positions. His leadership and tenacity under fire inspired the other C Troop soldiers to continue fighting against the superior enemy force, and directly contributed to the enemy’s ultimate defeat. Specialist Fifth Class Birdwell’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.