The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the

 

SILVER STAR MEDAL to

 

FIRST LIEUTENANT RICHARD C. HOFFMAN

 

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

 

For service as set forth in the following

 

CITATION:

 

                                    For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Platoon Commander with Company M, Third Battalion, Third Marines, Third Marine Division in connection with operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam.  On 17 June 1969, while First Lieutenant Hoffman’s platoon was conducting a search and destroy operation in the Dong Ha area, the lead squad came under a heavy volume of small arms and automatic weapons fire from a North Vietnamese Army unit occupying well-concealed bunkers. Observing two wounded Marines fall in an area dangerously exposed to the hostile fire, First Lieutenant Hoffman unhesitatingly left his position of relative security and fearlessly moving across the fire-swept terrain to a forward position, skillfully deployed his remaining men in effective fighting positions to assist the beleaguered squad. Then with complete disregard for his own safety, he raced across forty meters of open rice paddy and dragged the two casualties to the safety of a nearby bomb crater to await medical evacuation. Rejoining his unit, be boldly initiated an aggressive assault against an enemy machine gun emplacement, enabling his men to silence the North Vietnamese fire from this point. Seeing another injured man fall, First Lieutenant Hoffman directed his men to provide covering fire as he fearlessly ran to the man’s side and although becoming a vulnerable target for North Vietnamese Army snipers, boldly carried the injured man to a covered position. By his courage, bold initiative and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger, First Lieutenant Hoffman was instrumental in saving the lives of several Marines and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.

 

 

FOR THE PRESIDENT

 

 

H. W. BUSE, JR.

LIEUTENANT GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS

COMMANDING GENERAL, FLEET MARINE FORCE, PACIFIC