The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Staff Sergeant Beau Sam McGowan, Jr. (ASN: 34471603), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company F, 2d Battalion, 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 30 September 1944, at Mount Cappello, Italy. While occupying defensive positions on the crest of a hill, a company was subjected to an intense mortar barrage delivered from the vicinity of a house on the forward slope. Around the building approximately 100 Germans were assembling, presumably for a counter attack. Staff Sergeant McGowan volunteered to lead a platoon against the enemy stronghold. With fixed bayonets, the platoon led by Sergeant McGowan made a lightning attack on the enemy strongpoint. While leading his men to a point dangerously close to the impact area of supporting fire, Staff Sergeant McGowan personally neutralized two machine guns with hand grenades, killing three Germans and capturing six. Forcing one of his prisoners to load an enemy machine gun, Staff Sergeant McGowan manned the hostile weapon. He fired at a group of Germans in a draw to the rear of the house, killing or wounding 12 Germans and forcing the remainder to flee. During this action, Staff Sergeant McGowan was severely wounded in the leg, but he personally led his men in a ferocious assault on the house. He refused to be evacuated until he had reorganized his platoon and placed his men in defensive positions. The prodigious courage displayed by Staff Sergeant McGowan in the face of heavy odds won the admiration and esteem of his entire platoon, and his performance is exemplary of the finest traditions of the Armed Forces of the United States.