The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Terry W. Johnson, United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Senior Advisor/Marine Squad Leader of Mobile Training Team 1-1, III Marine Amphibious Force in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 23 February 1969, Sergeant Johnson led a patrol in search of a suspected hostile mortar emplacement and, en route, sighted thirty-five North Vietnamese Army soldiers occupying an ambush site. Although vastly outnumbered, he dispersed his men across a broad front and initiated an aggressive assault on the enemy emplacement with momentarily stunned the hostile soldiers and caused them to fall back. Having regrouped, they counterattacked, inflicting several casualties on the patrol and separating Sergeant Johnson, with two companions from the main body of his unit. Realizing the need for a larger force to suppress the enemy, he left one of his two comrades who had been wounded in the care of his second companion, a Popular Forces soldier, and, with complete disregard for his own safety, fearlessly raced across three hundred meters of fire-swept terrain to his radio operator to request a reaction unit. After reorganizing his men, he maneuvered them back to his original position to retrieve the injured Marine, but upon arrival discovered that the Popular Forces soldier had been killed and that the wounded man was missing. Presuming that his comrade had been captured, he took the patrol back to the base camp, assumed command of the reaction force and returning to the scene of the recent, fierce fire fight, commenced a search for the injured Marine. Coming upon a house surrounded by North Vietnamese Army guards, he deployed his men into concealed fighting positions around the structure. In a splendid display of valor, he then boldly initiated a lone rifle assault against the guards and, racing toward the position, broke into the building and killed the interior security soldiers surrounding the captured Marine. Assisting his companion to a covered position outside the house, he directed his men to launch an attack which forced the enemy into a disorganized retreat and killed fourteen hostile soldiers. Returning to the patrol’s compound with his men, he found that during his absence the area had come under a heavy volume of enemy fire. Anticipating subsequent attacks, he skillfully prepared a defensive perimeter. During the night, the Marines received intense mortar fire which damaged a hut containing medical equipment. Ignoring the numerous rounds impacting about him, Sergeant Johnson began running across the hazardous terrain to salvage the vital supplies, but was seriously wounded before he could attain his objective. His heroic actions and dynamic leadership inspired all who observed him and contributed significantly to the accomplishment of his unit’s mission. By his courage, aggressive fighting spirit and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger, Sergeant Johnson upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.