The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Specialist Fourth Class Freddy Ray Gore (ASN: US-53422072), United States Army, for gallantry in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force while serving with Company A, 2d Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 196th Infantry Brigade, in action on 13 July 1967, in the Republic of Vietnam. Specialist Fourth Class Gore distinguished himself by exceptionally heroic action and personal sacrifice while volunteering as Assistant Patrol Leader of a combined force of American and Vietnamese Popular Force soldiers. As the patrol crossed an open rice paddy while engaged in a search and destroy mission south of the village of Ky Long, it began receiving intense, well-placed enemy automatic weapons fire. The patrol was fired upon from three sides making it impossible to move without drawing the bitter enemy fire. Specialist Gore was assisting his squad leader in dispersing personnel and organizing a counterattack when he received word that a Vietnamese soldier to the rear had been severely wounded and was lying exposed and unattended in an open rice paddy. With only the thought of his stricken comrade and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Specialist Gore, unmindful of the heavy enemy fire, unhesitatingly returned alone across the open rice paddy to where the wounded man had fallen. Upon reaching the Vietnamese soldier, Specialist Gore, while still exposed to the hostile fire, proceeded to move the wounded man to relative safety behind a low rice paddy dike. Remaining at his side, knowing that the Vietnamese soldier needed immediate attention, Specialist Gore administered the critically needed first aid until mortally wounded by Viet Cong automatic fire. His resolute, personal determination and his unselfish concern for the life of a fellow soldier, at the cost of his own life, are in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflect the greatest credit upon himself, his unit, Task Force OREGON, and the United States Army.