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 First Lieutenant (Armor) Charles E. Brannon for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team, attached to the 24th Infantry Division. First Lieutenant Brannon distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Pangwa-dong, Korea, on 22 April 1951. On that date, Lieutenant Brannon led his platoon in an assault against a heavily fortified objective. However, the intense enemy fire soon pinned the friendly troops down, With keen tactical perception, Lieutenant Brannon analyzed the situation and immediately took positive steps to relieve the pressure on his men. Calling for an automatic- weapons team, he directed them to fire at one of the two enemy emplacements from which the major portion of the deadly fusillade originated. He then single- handedly attacked the other and, ignoring its heavy volume of fire, he killed its occupants. This paved the way to the crest of the objective and he personally led his men in a spirited assault. Heavy fire from deeply entrenched forces halted this attack also and Lieutenant Brannon immediately charged forward alone and attacked position after position, neutralizing each in turn, When his men moved up to consolidate the top of the hill, hitherto hidden enemy troops began firing in conjunction with defensive fire from the reverse slope of the hill. Realizing the untenable nature of the friendly positions, Lieutenant Brannon and his men were forced to seek out each enemy soldier before establishing their perimeter. The fanatical foe then launched a counterattack which caught the friendly troops with their ammunition almost completely exhausted. To save his men from almost certain death, Lieutenant Brannon ordered them to execute a limited withdrawal while he provided covering fire which enabled them to perform the maneuver with a minimum of casualties.

View Charles Brannon’s Oak Leaf Cluster citation.