The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Corporal William Glen Hengevelt (MCSN: 2142331), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving an Artillery Scout Observer with Battery I, Third Battalion, Eleventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Rein.), FMF, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On the night of 4 November 1968, Corporal Hengevelt, a member of a Forward Observer Team attached to Company M, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines during a search and destroy operation in Quang Nam Province, accompanied a reaction platoon assigned to assist a patrol that was heavily engaged with a numerically superior and well-entrenched North Vietnamese Army force. Encountering harassing hostile fire 800 meters from the patrol’s location, he immediately directed effective 81-mm. mortar fire against the enemy positions which enabled his platoon to continue its advance. Upon reaching the beleaguered Marines’ position, the reaction force came under extremely intense North Vietnamese machine gun, anti-tank grenade and automatic weapons fire. Completely disregarding his own safety, Corporal Hengevelt repeatedly exposed himself to the hostile fire to more effectively direct accurate artillery and mortar fire, often to within thirty-five meters of friendly lines. Hearing calls requesting assistance for wounded Marines, Corporal Hengevelt, undaunted by the heavy volume of enemy fire, fearlessly ran across the hazardous terrain and carried a mortally wounded man to safety. Boldly returning across the fire-swept area, he reached another seriously wounded Marine and, finding the casualty too critically injured to be moved, remained by the man’s side as he administered first aid until Corporal Hengevelt was himself wounded. Refusing medical evacuation until all of the other casualties were moved to positions of relative safety, he allowed himself to be moved to a covered location where, ignoring his painful injuries, he resolutely continued to direct supporting arms fire against the enemy. By his courage, superior professionalism and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, Corporal Hengevelt upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.