The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Soldier’s Medal to Staff Sergeant Nguyen Van Manh, Army of the Republic of Vietnam, for heroism at the risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy on 25 June 1968, while serving as an Army Translator attached to Mobile Assistance Command, Vietnam. On this date Sergeant Manh was present in the compounds of the 313th Regional Forces Company, Tan Uyen, Bien Hoa, the unit which the mobile advisory team was advising, when an ammunition-handling detail caused the accidental detonation of an 81-mm. mortar shell. Other ammunition and the immediate vicinity of the accidental detonation, both 81-mm. mortar high explosive and M-72 LAW ammunition, began to burn and subsequently explode, causing numerous casualties in the compound and causing the interior of the compound to become a beaten zone. Immediately upon the first detonation, Sergeant Manh crossed the interior of the compound to the mobile advisory team. Sergeant Manh again crossed the interior of the compound, at great personal hazard, to relay information to the commanding officer of the 313th Regional Forces Company. Thereafter, Sergeant Manh made his way outside the compound and by personal initiative organized a search party to work around the perimeter in an attempt to locate any other surviving casualties. Later, Sergeant Manh was able to make his way back to the mobile advisory team billets, located some 30 feet from the exploding ammunition, by a route offering some limited cover. Several more times Sergeant Manh traversed this route, at considerable risk, relaying vital information. Finally, he assisted in the evacuation of the wounded from the billets, by this route, to a waiting helicopter. Sergeant Manh’s courageous and entirely voluntary performance, undertaken at the risk of his life, greatly facilitated the collection, treatment, and evacuation of wounded survivors including three critically wounded Vietnamese children. Sergeant Manh’s heroic action reflects great credit upon himself and upon the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.