The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Soldier’s Medal to Master Sergeant William M. Clayton, United States Army, for heroism while a member of the 8353d Army Unit, (Arctic Test Branch), near Big Delta, Alaska, on 19 June 1951. During a paradrop of heavy equipment from a cargo aircraft, the extraction system failed to function over the drop zone, delaying the release and presenting the possibility of loss of the valuable equipment by a drop in an inaccessible area several miles from the designated point. Realizing the danger involved to personnel in the cargo compartment should the heavy load break loose, Sergeant Clayton voluntarily crawled over the load, exposed his head and shoulders into the slipstream, retrieved the pilot chute, and made the system ready for a subsequent successful drop. Sergeant Clayton’s mental alertness, fortitude, and courageous action in the face of extreme danger reflect the highest credit on himself and the United States Army.