The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Soldier’s Medal to Sergeant Travis T. Beck (ASN: 6926302), United States Army, for heroism at the risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy while serving with the 509th Military Police Battalion, on 18 December 1944, in Belgium. On that date, two soldiers were in a truck which had been blown into a river by an enemy bomb. Realizing that the men might still be alive, Sergeant Beck volunteered for the dangerous task of rescuing them. Unsuccessful in two previous attempts to reach the men because of swift currents, he subsequently made his way to the partially submerged vehicle by swimming out to the center of the stream and permitting the current to carry him to the truck, only to discover that the soldiers were dead. The heroic actions of Sergeant Beck undertaken at great risk to his own life, reflected credit on himself and the military service.