Corporal Harry J. Corsetti

For extraordinary heroism in action while serving as a team leader with the Third Force Reconnaissance Company, Third Reconnaissance Battalion, Third Marine Division, in connection with operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 15 August 1968, while conducting a long-range reconnaissance patrol southeast of Con Thien combat Outpost, Corporal Corsetti alertly observed a numerically superior North Vietnamese Army force approaching his team's position. Rapidly deploying his men, he assigned them fields of fire, and upon learning that a wire on a command-detonated mine was defective, he fearlessly moved to within thirty meters of the advancing enemy soldiers to repair the faulty device. During the ensuing three-hour fight, he skillfully coordinated supporting arms fires with those of his men, successfully halting the advance of the enemy until a tank-infantry reaction force arrived. Mounting one of the armored vehicles to direct its fire, Corporal Corsetti assumed command when the tank commander was wounded, and ignoring the intense hostile fire, he directed highly effective fire against the North Vietnamese until they were forced to flee in panic and confusion. When his team came under intense fire from a numerically superior hostile force on 17 August, Corporal Corsetti immediately deployed his men and coordinated accurate artillery fire and gunship attacks against the enemy. On one occasion, he completely disregarded his own safety as he fearlessly exposed himself to draw hostile fire, enabling the supporting armed helicopter pilots to locate the North Vietnamese positions. Undaunted by the enemy rounds impacting near him, he moved across the fire-swept terrain to establish a landing zone and subsequently directed the embarkation of his men aboard an extraction aircraft. By his courage, bold initiative, and selfless devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, Corporal Corsetti inspired all who observed him and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.