The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Field Artillery) Frederic Read Chesebrough (ASN: 0-5420446), United States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force while serving with Battery A, 2d Battalion, 4th Artillery Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, in action in the Republic of Vietnam. Second Lieutenant Chesebrough distinguished himself while serving as an Artillery Observer attached to a Vietnamese force as it assaulted a Viet Cong controlled area near Ben Luc on 16 March 1967. Lieutenant Chesebrough was in the first boat of an amphibious assault. Upon reaching shore, his force met and was pinned down by a hail of automatic and small arms fire. Lieutenant Chesebrough, exposing himself to the enemy barrage, called in artillery with incredible accuracy. Due to his precise adjustment of the artillery, the first wave of troops was soon able to move 500 meters inland near a small village. As this advance party of American advisors and Vietnamese soldiers made its way across an open rice paddy, they encountered once again a torrid wall of enemy fire. The insurgent firepower pinned down the friendly force. Lieutenant Chesebrough fearlessly maneuvered to a dike in the rice paddy in order to better gauge the effects of the artillery. The artillery he called in raked the enemy repeatedly, decimating their ranks to the point that they could be overrun. It was during this final thrust that Lieutenant Chesebrough was killed. Second Lieutenant Chesebrough’s personal bravery and professional competence were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.