1st Lieutenant Rodney J. Wijas, received the Distinguished Service Cross for his extraordinary heroism while a staff sergeant with the Armyís 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam on 5 July 1966. Staff Sergeant Wijas was accompanying the lead company on a helibourne assault. Immediately after the helicopters of the leading elements had landed, the landing zone was swept by enemy machine gun and small arms fire from concealed positions, approximately 30 meters away. The lead helicopter was disabled immediately, and the wounded crew members were left exposed to the enemy fire. Sergeant Wijas, realizing that the only hope of survival for the more seriously wounded was immediate first aid, moved forward in full view of the enemy. While under continual aimed fire from automatic weapons, he succeeded in recovering several of the more desperately wounded men and saved their lives by administering emergency first aid. Attempts to reinforce the company by air were called off because the heavy volume of enemy fire made it impossible for more helicopters to land. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sergeant Wijas again moved forward, under fire, to consolidate the friendly unit positions. Determining that the present positions were untenable, Sergeant Wijas advised the Ranger Company Commander to relocate the unit near a small canal which afforded some protection. Sergeant Wijas, for the third time, moved forward under enemy fire and insured that all wounded personnel had been evacuated to the new position. Rejoining the company, Sergeant Wijas began to advise on the best methods to launch an assault in conjunction with an armored cavalry unit element which had maneuvered to the left flank. Based on Sergeant Wijasí sound tactical advice, a coordinated attack was launched against the fortified Viet Cong positions. As the remainder of the ranger company began their assault, they were again met by a hail of automatic weapons fire. Sergeant Wijas, seeing that the attack was about to falter, moved to the front of the assault and personally encouraged the attacking elements in a final effort. Leading the assault, Sergeant Wijas killed one Viet Cong with his pistol before being seriously wounded by a grenade. Although he had multiple wounds, and one fragment had penetrated his chest and collapsed a lung, Sergeant Wijas refused medial attention. He remained in his exposed position, directed air strikes on the enemy positions, and continued to render sound tactical advice to his counterpart. Through Sergeant Wijas courageous efforts, the lives of numerous Vietnamese soldiers were saved, and the unit was able to completely overrun the enemy position and inflict maximum casualties on the insurgent forces.

After his tour in the U.S. Army, 1lt. Wijas joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He joined the Legion of Valor in 1975 and resides in Virginia.