MSGT Homer L Pittman Jr

MASTER SERGEANT HOMER L. PITTMAN, JR. (then Staff Sergeant) United States Army. Troop K, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam: Staff Sergeant Pittman distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 21 May 1967 while serving as vehicle commander and acting platoon sergeant of a resupply convoy on Route 1 near Soui Cat. As the convoy moved along the road, a hostile battalion attacked with anti-tank and automatic weapons and mortars. Sergeant Pittman’s vehicle was hit and set afire by a recoilless rifle round, but he managed to maneuver out of the withering concentration of enemy fire to evacuate his men safely. Jumping from the vehicle, he immediately began grenading enemy soldiers to provide cover for his men. Seeing another vehicle nearby, Sergeant Pittman took command of it and fought through intense fire to evacuate the friendly wounded. This vehicle was also disabled and set afire by an enemy rocket, but he braved the intense heat without regard for his personal safety to remove all the ammunition. Once on the ground he exposed himself to the enemy fire time after time to carry the ammunition to the perimeter he had set up. For twenty minutes Sergeant Pittman directed the fire of his men to repel the assaults by the numerically superior and determined insurgents. His courage in the face of grave danger was responsible for saving the lives of many of his men. Staff Sergeant Pittman’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

MSG Pittman resided in Louisiana.

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