The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the

 

NAVY CROSS MEDAL  to

 

CORPORAL ROBERT G. DALTON

 

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

 

Co K, 3rd Battalion., 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division

 

Date Of Action: May 25, 1969

 

Citation:

 

For extraordinary heroism while serving as a Squad Leader with Company K, Third Battalion, Third Marines, Third Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam on 25 May 1969. While Company K was participating in Operation VIRGINIA RIDGE near the Demilitarized Zone, the lead platoon came under a heavy volume of machine gun and automatic weapons fire supported by rocket-propelled grenades, directional mines and mortars. In the initial burst of fire, the platoon commander and point squad leader were seriously wounded. Realizing the need for immediate action, Corporal Dalton rallied his companions, then, seizing the machine gun of an injured Marine, dauntlessly moved forward to a vantage point on the crest of a hill and, although this made him a vulnerable target for hostile gunners, resolutely maintained his dangerously exposed position as he relentlessly delivered rapid fire at enemy emplacements, thus enabling other Marines to treat the casualties behind him. Aware that the hilltop had to be taken before medical evacuation helicopters could land and embark the wounded, Corporal Dalton picked up the machine gun and two cans of ammunition and, wrapping his shirt around the red-hot barrel of the weapon, initiated an aggressive assault up the slope. As he led his comrades in the attack, the North Vietnamese Army soldiers retreated from their entrenched positions. Having expended his ammunition and armed only with a pistol and a hand grenade, Corporal Dalton observed an enemy bunker 30 meters to his front and, boldly charging the remaining emplacement, routed the enemy. His heroic actions and determined efforts were instrumental in the defeat of the North Vietnamese Army force. By his aggressive fighting spirit and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dalton upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.