PLATOON SERGEANT DANIEL A. CARRIZALES, was awarded the Distinguised Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism while leading the scout section of his troop on a mission to search and destroy the abandoned village of Lang Nam near An Loc. On 7 June 1969, as the armored troop began to file across a culvert, a large North Vietnamese force unleashed a barrage of rifle and rocket-propelled grenade fire. As Sergeant Carrizales moved forward to the aid of the lead element, he was wounded by small arms fire; yet he continued his counterassault, riddling the hostile positions with fifty-caliber machine gun fire. As his vehicle over-ran the first line of enemy bunkers, Sergeant Carrizales sustained a second facial wound that necessitated his using hand and arm signals to direct his platoon’s movement. Despite this and additional wounds, Sergeant Carrizales refused medical treatment throughout the grueling six-hour engagement with the hostile force, until the enemy’s defeat was assured. Staff Sergeant Carrizales’ extraordinary herosim and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.

SGT Carrizales has been a member of the Legion of Valor since 1971.