The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class George Edward Metzger (NSN: 33822701), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy during the re-capture of Guam, on 21 July 1944, while serving as a Medical Corpsman with an infantry assault Platoon of the V Amphibious Corps. During the night, a numerically superior enemy force made repeated fanatical attacks against the company of which he was a member, inflicting heavy casualties. Through a hail of machine gun fire and exploding hand grenades, with complete disregard of his own personal safety, Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Metzger moved along the line administering first aid to the wounded and dying. He himself suffered wounds from shell fragments. Suffering heavy losses, the platoon was displaced, between attacks, from the ridge to the head of the draw which the enemy was endeavoring to enter. Despite the displacement and his painful wounds, he continued to move along the ridge looking for wounded. He succeeded in evacuating fourteen wounded to a safer position within the draw, and administered first aid until he ran out of medical supplies. Then he did all in his power to ease the suffering of the wounded and dying until they were evacuated to the aid station at daybreak. He completely disregarded his own wounds. After the wounded were evacuated he proceeded to the beach for medical supplies to continue his duties as Corpsman for his platoon. Upon reaching the beach he was not allowed to return to his unit because of the wounds he had suffered during the night. His loyalty and devotion to duty and outstanding courage were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.