The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Staff Sergeant Enrique Salas Cruz (ASN: RA-50010125), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division. On 30 June 1966, Staff Sergeant Cruz was serving as a track commander of the last vehicle in a column movement during a search and destroy mission along Highway 13. When his unit received intense hostile fire from a Viet Cong regiment, Staff Sergeant Cruz observed that the insurgents were closing in from the rear in an attempt to cut off the column. He immediately swung his track around and delivered suppressive fire onto the attacking Viet Cong. For more than an hour, he prevented the insurgent force from breaching the rear of the column. When a nearby tank was hit by hostile fire which killed the tank commander and wounded the three crew members, Staff Sergeant Cruz, with complete disregard for his safety, rushed to the burning tank, pulled out all three stricken crewmen, and carried them to the cover of his armored personnel carrier. He then administered first aid to his wounded comrades and took them to the evacuation area. Although he was wounded while pulling the wounded soldiers from the vehicle, Staff Sergeant Cruz refused to be evacuated. Instead, he re-supplied his carrier with ammunition and returned to the front of the battle area to provide covering fire for the evacuation of the wounded. When his machine gun barrel melted due to the intense rate of fire, he jumped from his tank and secured another weapon from a disabled carrier. He refused to be evacuated when wounded a second time. When the Viet Cong fire subsided, Staff Sergeant Cruz maneuvered his vehicle to the rear and evacuated his wounded comrades. He then re-supplied his track with ammunition, returned to the battle area, and remained there until the end of the engagement. Staff Sergeant Cruz’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.