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 Sergeant Lawrence R. Taylor (ASN: RA-15536235), 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, 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division. Sergeant Taylor distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 24 April 1967 while serving as a member of a tank unit during a search and destroy mission in the Filhol Plantation. While Sergeant Taylor’s platoon searched for a Viet Cong unit known to be in the vicinity, it entered a heavily mined and booby trapped area. When one of the platoon’s tanks hit a mine, the men dismounted their vehicles to search the area and disarm the insurgent traps. A few minutes later, they received a sudden outburst of rifle and machine gun fire from a bunker 30 meters away. Six men were wounded immediately and remained exposed to hostile fire. Sergeant Taylor unhesitatingly ran 30 meters through the mined field, ignoring the intense Viet Cong barrage, to lay down a heavy base of fire to protect the casualties. When his ammunition ran out, he charged the enemy bunker, armed only with two grenades, and threw them into the emplacement. The insurgents were silenced, but only momentarily, so Sergeant Taylor ran to a machine gun on a nearby truck. He fired on the hostile fortification until his machine gun would no longer fire, then once again charged directly at the enemy weapons to throw two grenades at the Viet Cong. After his own assault, he directed a tank to engage the insurgents. When the smoke had cleared, five Viet Cong were found dead, and there was evidence that the insurgents had suffered several more serious casualties. Sergeant Taylor’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.