Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

1st Lieutenant

Unit:

Company A, 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. Government

Awarded on:

April 17th, 1945

"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company A, 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion (Separate), Office of Strategic Services, in action against enemy forces in the vicinity of Barchetta, Corsica, on 25 September 1943. On the night of 24 September 1943, First Lieutenant Gordon led an American raiding party of nine enlisted men thru enemy lines and took positions the following morning behind enemy defensive posts where they destroyed a concentration of German vehicles loaded with enemy troops who were preparing to reinforce a besieged unit under attack by main Allied Forces. When an intense barrage of mortar and artillery fire from the enemy began raining upon his area, First Lieutenant Gordon, with rare devotion to duty and extraordinary heroism in the face of the enemy, stayed on in his position which afforded very little natural cover, to insure that no aid would reach the besieged enemy, who was controlling a strategic valley road between Barchetta and Bastia. Shortly after the barrage began he was killed by mortar fire. First Lieutenant Gordon's outstanding courage and zealous devotion to duty at the cost of his life, exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

Headquarters, U.S. Army-Mediterranean Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 70 (posthumously awarded)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)