The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Steven H. Wood (ASN: 0-1935523), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with an Infantry Company of the 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Second Lieutenant Wood distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Sokkogae, Korea, on 8 July 1953. On that date, Lieutenant Wood was the leader of a group attempting to reinforce an outpost which was under attack. When his unit was pinned down by fire from an enemy bunker, Lieutenant Wood advanced on the position alone and killed eight of its occupants through the accurate use of grenades and his pistol. Although wounded by a grenade, Lieutenant Wood proceeded to another bunker and freed five United Nations soldiers who had been trapped by an explosion. Encouraging and inspiring his men, Lieutenant Wood then continued to lead the advance and successfully established a perimeter of defense on the crest of a hill before again being wounded by an enemy grenade. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he fearlessly exposed himself to an intense barrage of fire, hurled grenades into an enemy-occupied trench to his front, and forced the enemy to evacuate the position. Seeing the enemy move into the open, Lieutenant Wood immediately directed effective fire which killed twelve of them. When his force was finally ordered to withdraw, he quickly called in accurate artillery fire on the enemy positions and prevented the enemy from bringing up reinforcements. The extraordinary heroism displayed by Second Lieutenant Wood on this occasion reflects the greatest credit on himself and is in keeping with the high traditions of the military service.