Navy Federal Credit Union

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 First Class Neal Middleton Morris (ASN: RA-34769763), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Battery A, 26th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion, 24th Infantry Division. Sergeant First Class Morris distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Yonch’on, North Korea, on 13 December 1950. While he was on outpost duty protecting battery C, 555th Field Artillery Battalion from aircraft and ground attack, a force of approximately sixty guerrillas infiltrated through the darkness to within a few yards of the vehicle. Observing that the enemy were too close for him to bring effective fire on them, he attempted to withdraw with his driver; however, when the motor of the half track was started, it drew heavy enemy fire and the driver was seriously wounded. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he withdrew approximately seventy-five yards where he reorganized the remaining seven men of his section and started back to the half-track position to engage the enemy. He crossed an open field under heavy enemy fire which became so intense that the group was pinned down ten yards from their objective. Heedless of the intense enemy small-arms fire and with complete disregard for his personal safety, he crawled the remaining ten yards and removed the wounded driver from the half track. After removing the driver, he started the motor which operated the gun turret in an attempt to bring the quad-mounted .50 caliber machine guns to bear on the enemy. The noise of the motor again drew heavy small-arms and automatic-weapons fire and an enemy grenade blew Sergeant Morris from the track, mortally wounding him. Sergeant First Class Morris’ display of courage, patriotism, and devotion to duty so inspired his seven comrades that they successfully advanced into the face of the enemy and fought off the attack against overwhelming odds. The extraordinary heroism and selfless sacrifice of Sergeant First Class Morris reflected great credit on himself and the military service.

Awards Received

  • Prisoner of War Medal

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    Sergeant

    Action Date:

    July 20, 1950 – ????

    Sergeant Neal M. Morris (ASN: RA-34769763), United States Army, was captured during fighting in Korea on 20 July 1950, but escaped captivityand returned to duty on 27 July 1950.