The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Sergeant Willie Noriega Estrada (ASN: US-54028427), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving a Tank Commander with 245th Medium Tank Battalion, 45th Infantry Division. Sergeant Estrada distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Bongowol, Korea, on the night of 21 September 1952. On that night a probe by enemy units threatened the security of supporting tank positions on the left flank of a tactically important hill. Sergeant Estrada immediately maneuvered his tank into position and directed accurate machine-gun fire on the attacking foe. In the battle which followed, Sergeant Estrada was painfully wounded, but nevertheless continued to fire his weapon with deadly effectiveness. Swarming forward and surrounding the friendly position, the enemy peppered the tank with grenades, set demolition charges under the tracks, and fired down the gun tubes in an attempt to destroy the vehicle. As dawn approached the following morning the fire subsided, but a short time later the enemy once more converged on the tank. Again the crew directed accurate fire on the enemy before moving toward the base of the hill to rejoin friendly infantry units. While proceeding down the hazardous slope, the tank was hit by rocket fire, which disabled the vehicle and seriously wounded Sergeant Estrada. When one of the crew opened a hatch, the enemy hurled grenades through the opening. Although his arm and shoulder had been shattered and he had received several chest wounds, Sergeant Estrada picked up the missiles as they fell into the tank and threw them out of the vehicle. With rare courage, he continued to stave off his attackers until he succumbed to his wounds. The extraordinary heroism displayed by Sergeant Estrada on this occasion reflects the greatest credit on himself and is in keeping with the high traditions of the military service.