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 First Sergeant Herbert Allen Tubbs (ASN: 39195705), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company I, 3d Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in action against enemy forces at Normandy, France, from 6 to 14 June 1944. On 6 June 1944, First Sergeant Tubbs’ battalion parachuted just north of Hiesville, France, with the mission of close-in protection of the Division Command Posts, and being the Division Reserve. The drop, however, was scattered due to the heavy cloud formations and anti-aircraft fire received just after the crossing of the western shore of the Cherbourg Peninsula, and as a result, only a small amount of men hit the Drop Zone. First Sergeant Stubbs’ stick landed near St. Jores which was seven or eight miles behind enemy lines. During the night, he and four other men left on patrol and became engaged in a fire fight and were separated from the rest of the men. They vainly spent the rest of that night and all of the next day and night trying to find a way through the enemy lines. Late in the afternoon of 6 June, First Sergeant Tubbs operating on a one-man patrol, found an injured Paratrooper. He took his four men to the chateau and on the way found another American Paratrooper and took him with them. That night on another patrol, First Sergeant Tubbs contacted the French underground and received definite information concerning their location and the enemy forces in the area. There was a company of SS troops in the vicinity of Baupte and two companies stationed at Pretot. They also had several companies of parachute troops in a close-in area five miles to the south, and several anti-aircraft guns were operating in the vicinity. Early the next morning the French brough Lieutenant Janitz of Company H, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment to the chateau in a cart covered with hay. The Lieutenant had received a broken ankle on the jump. Later on, they brought one more injured Paratrooper to the group. The unit now totaled eight men and they held a council to decide what to do. The injured men wanted the others to leave and try to make their own lines, but this they refused to do, and it was decided that they would set up a defense in the Chateau and hold until the Americans could get to them. First Sergeant Tubbs led many day and nigh patrols throughout the area. They found and carried back to the Chateau all the equipment bundles in the vicinity. In the bundles they found a 284th radio, a 300 radio, and an abundance of machine guns and bazookas. They fortified the house with a machine gun at every window, and radioed to friendly forces all the information they could get from the French or could find themselves. On the fourth day they heard that the Germans were bringing in reinforcements to meet the advancing American troops. This same day in the town of St. Jores, First Sergeant Tubbs and two other men were contacting the French when he noticed several Germans advancing on them in the street. First Sergeant Tubbs, disregarding the enemy’s fire, rushed them with his Tommy Gun, killing two and putting the rest to flight. From that time on the Germans constantly kept patrols searching for the group. The French were stationed in detail and their movements were watched. Consequently, the job became even more difficult and patrolling more dangerous. First Sergeant Tubbs ignored this fact and volunteered more and more for this work. On the seventh day he noticed an enemy patrol about to inspect the Chateau. He single-handedly fired on their group, putting them to flight and killing at least one. During the night they learned from the French that the Americans were at Coigny about three miles away. In the afternoon, First Sergeant Tubbs and two other men moved through the enemy lines, contacted this friendly force, with the Parachute Infantry at Le Vivier a distance of about three miles. The Americans were badly in need of the supplies and First Sergeant Tubbs’ group had and he traded them in exchange for a 2 1/2 ton open truck with which he promised to return with supplies. Mounting a machine gun on the back of the truck, he and his two men drove through several German patrols back to the Chateau. There they loaded the injured on the back of the truck, plus all their supplies, and drove once more through the German forces and back to the 508. First Sergeant Tubbs actions during the entire period behind the German lines and the final episode were far beyond the ordinary call of duty. His leadership of the patrols and his aggressive spirit against overwhelming odds did much to keep the group’s moral and determination at a high level. The information secured by personal observation and from the French did much to help overcome and drive the Germans from the area. First Sergeant Tubbs’ extraordinary heroism, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 101st Airborne Division, and the United States Army.