The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant Daniel G. Hovanesian (MCSN: 0-106803), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as an Aerial Observer with the Eleventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 31 December 1970, while conducting an aerial reconnaissance of the DaNang Vital Area in an effort to locate enemy rocket sites, First Lieutenant Hovanesian spotted ten North Vietnamese Army soldiers in a well-concealed position. Immediately requesting the pilot to hover at a dangerously low level, he contacted helicopter gunships to advise them of the situation. While he was thus engaged, two of the hostile soldiers attempted to escape. Seeking to prevent this, the pilot executed a blocking maneuver close to the ground and, seeing that their route of egress was closed to them, the enemy soldiers delivered intense automatic weapons fire at the observation helicopter, causing it to sustain extensive damage and crash land. Although seriously wounded, First Lieutenant Hovanesian quickly extricated himself from the wreckage removed the machine gun and directed the two crew himself from the wreckage, removed the machine gun and directed the two crew members to establish a defensive perimeter. Hearing North Vietnamese Army soldiers approaching their position, he moved to a more effective fighting location and, because of the necessity to conserve ammunition, waited until the men were only ten feet distant before killing them. As other soldiers maneuvered to surround the three Marines, First Lieutenant Hovanesian directed a base of fire in the direction of the movement, forcing the enemy to withdraw and enabling a transport helicopter to land and effect an extraction. By his courage, aggressive leadership, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger, First Lieutenant Hovanesian was instrumental in saving the lives of his companions and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.