The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Corporal Daniel L. Heller, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism on 13 February 1969 while serving with Company C, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines in the Republic of Vietnam. When Corporal HellerÕs platoon was taken under intense fire by an entrenched North Vietnamese Army force, the lead squad and platoon commander were trapped in a hail of mortar, rocket
propelled grenade (RPG), machine gun, and small-arms fire. As Corporal Heller maneuvered his squad to flank the enemy, two of his Marines were felled by gunfire. Without hesitation or concern for his own safety, he rushed forward and carried the wounded point man back to a makeshift aid station. Moving forward to retrieve the second casualty, he paused to clear a jammed M-60 machine gun and got the weapon back in action. As he reached the second wounded Marine, an RPG explosion severely wounded both of them. Undaunted, he carried the other Marine back to the aid station but refused treatment for his own painful wounds. He returned to the fight and single-handedly charged four approaching enemy soldiers, vanquishing all of them. This bold and daring act inspired his squad to violently attack the enemy and drive them from the battlefield. By his courage, relentlessness, and loyal devotion to duty, Corporal Heller reflected great credit upon himself upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.