The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Vincent Hichiro Okamoto (ASN: OF-1124459), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company B, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Second Lieutenant Okamoto distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 24 August 1968 while serving as a platoon leader with an infantry unit near Dau Tieng. A ground attack was launched against his battalion’s night location by three reinforced North Vietnamese and Viet Cong companies. The initial assault destroyed a strategic section of the perimeter. Under heavy automatic weapons, small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire, Lieutenant Okamoto moved with five of his men to restore this vital position. Realizing the need for supporting fire, he ran to a partially destroyed armored personnel carrier and manned its machine gun. After the weapon malfunctioned, he dashed through the fusillade of enemy fire to a second and then a third carrier to place suppressing fire on the aggressors. Spying a group of enemy soldiers maneuvering toward the unit’s lines, Lieu-tenant Okamoto crawled under cover of small arms and automatic weapons fire to less than ten meters from the communists and destroyed them with fragmentation grenades. He was injured by a hostile concussion grenade, which exploded close to his position, but refusing aid he kept fighting until the North Vietnamese/Viet Cong force was defeated. Second Lieutenant Okamoto’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.