Major EARL K. WOOLLEY, received the Distinguished Service Cross while a lieutenant with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment in Korea. The then Lieutenant Woolley distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy in the vicinity of Parun-ni, Korea, on 28 March 1951. On that date, Company G was assigned the mission of attacking Hills 507 and 519, two strongpoints held by a well- entrenched hostile force. In the ensuing action, Lieutenant Woolley led his platoon in a bayonet and grenade assault against the enemy positions. Despite the heavy volume of hostile fire, Lieutenant Woolley took up a position at the head of his men and the enemy began to barrage the friendly platoon with grenades. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Lieutenant Woolley picked up several enemy grenades that landed near his position and threw them among the hostile troops inflicting heavy casualties. Although painfully wounded by an exploding grenade, he nevertheless led his men forward and closed with the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, successfully securing Hill 507. Refusing evacuation, Lieutenant Woolley was placed in charge of the weapons platoon as the remainder of the company launched an attack against Hill 519, the second phase of the mission. Upon observing that the route of attack was under fire, he immediately organized his platoon consisting of eleven men, and, supported by machine-gun and mortar fire, led an assault against the hostile emplacements. In this action, two enemy machine guns were destroyed and twenty-five of the enemy were killed. When four of his men were wounded, Lieutenant Woolley deployed the remaining seven in a perimeter defense and held an important terrain feature until relieved by another unit at dusk. The extraordinary heroism and inspiring leadership displayed by Lieutenant Woolley throughout this action reflect great credit on himself and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.

Major Woolley joined the Legion of Valor in 1963 and resides in Northern California.