The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Field Artillery) Eric Fisher Wood, Jr. (ASN: 0-517724), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Executive Officer of Battery A, 589th Field Artillery Battalion, 106th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces in Belgium, on 17 December 1944, near Schonberg, Belgium. Lieutenant Wood’s section, the rear element of the withdrawing battalion, was cut off and completely surrounded, his vehicle was destroyed by enemy tank fire, and hostile infantry covered the surrounding area with a hail of small-arms fire. Refusing to surrender, as enemy fire converged on him from all sides, he raced across a large open field into the woods beyond. Cut off from all possibility of returning to his own lines, far inside enemy territory in the Ardennes wilderness in the dead of winter, he rejected any temptation to surrender. Not content to maintain his liberty behind the enemy lines, on company with several other Americans in the area, he repeatedly initiated ambush attacks against enemy communications, supply columns, and patrols, accounting for the deaths of scores of the foe. Valiantly, Lieutenant Wood continued his offensive action until finally in a last fierce engagement with overwhelming forces he made the supreme sacrifice, where later his body was found surrounded by the bodies of seven of the enemy, mute testimony to the daring, the loyalty, and the intrepid gallantry of Lieutenant Wood in the service of his country. First Lieutenant Wood’s extraordinary heroism, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty at the cost of his life, exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 106th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.