The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain Alfred E. Lyon (MCSN: 0-86886), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Commanding Officer of Company E, Second Battalion, Third Marines, THIRD Marine Division (Rein.), FMF, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam on 3 May 1967. In the early morning hours of 3 May 1967, during Operation BEACON STAR, Company E was deployed on a hill complex south of Hill 881N in the vicinity of Khe Sanh when it came under intense mortar, automatic weapons, and hand grenade attack by a battalion size force of the North Vietnamese Army, 325th Division. In the confusion and mayhem heightened by a deafening rainstorm and darkness, and aware that the enemy had penetrated the company perimeter inflicting heavy casualties, Captain Lyon, though twice wounded in previous fighting on 1 and 2 May, moved quickly and aggressively to reorganize his forces to repel the penetration and restore the defensive perimeter. Amidst the close combat and hand-to-hand fighting all around his command bunker, Captain Lyon’s calm demeanor and steadfast resolve inspired his officers and men to take the fight back to a very determined, numerically superior enemy force. Casualties in the penetrated sector mounted so that he called and received a platoon from Company F that he quickly integrated with the one infantry squad remaining in the second platoon. Working with higher headquarters, he coordinated devastating supporting arms upon the enemy that he had fixed in place with his defense. When dawn broke, the company position was littered with hundreds of enemy dead as well as 31 killed in action from Company E. The ferocity of the battle continued for seven hours into the daylight with several enemy counter-attacks that Captain Lyon decisively repelled with supporting arms and coordinated infantry maneuver. During one such episode, while personally controlling an air strike against a well-entrenched enemy .50 caliber machine gun position, Captain Lyon was seriously wounded in the arm, chest, and thigh. Though he adamantly refused to be evacuated from the battlefield, loss of blood causing episodes of unconsciousness mandated his evacuation. By his actions, Captain Lyon had defeated a numerically superior enemy under desperate conditions. By his steadfast resolve and gallant leadership, Captain Lyon minimized Marine casualties and inspired his Marines to win the day, reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.