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 Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) Albert J. Brown, United States Army, for heroism at the risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy as Commanding Officer of the 2d Battalion, 13th Infantry, on 27 July 1964, near Michelstadt, Germany. When informed that urgent assistance was needed at the scene of an accident in which an Army truck, carrying sixteen tons of 155-mm. ammunition, had turned over, started to burn, and pinned the driver beneath the wreckage, Colonel Brown unhesitatingly volunteered to participate in the rescue effort. As he and the rescue party arrived in a vehicle (Tracked Recovery) at the accident site in a wooded area, the exploding 155-mm. shells had started a number of brushfires and one serious fire threatened 40,000 acres of prime coniferous forest. With complete disregard for his own safety and ignoring the exploding shells and fire, he directed the course of the rescue vehicle, succeeded in reaching the burning truck, and attempted to lift the wreckage with the bulldozer blade of the tracked recovery vehicle to determine the condition of the truck driver and evacuate him. When the exploding shells prevented his departure from the tracked recovery vehicle, he moved it a safe distance away, dismounted and, with the medics, proceeded on foot to the truck. Two minutes after the medics determined that the driver was no longer alive and the rescue party had moved away from the wrecked truck to a safe area, a tremendous explosion occurred hurling blazing fragments into the air and starting new fires. Colonel Brown then organized his men to assist local firemen, and the crew of the tracked recovery vehicle volunteered to cut fire breaks with the bulldozer blade of the vehicle which aided in the control of the fire. Colonel Brown’s fortitude, heroic conduct, and deep concern for the life of a fellow soldier are in the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.