2LT Joe Vincent Cerri Jr

Comments: Second Lieutenant Cerri was a member of the 65th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on June 11, 1953. The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Joe V. Cerri (O-1926012), Second Lieutenant (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Platoon Leader with Company G, 2d Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. Second Lieutenant Cerri distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Kumhwa, Korea, on the morning of 11 June 1953. On that date Lieutenant Cerri was at a point on the main line of resistance which was subjected to an artillery and mortar barrage, immediately followed by a ground assault by a numericallysuperior force. Lieutenant Cerri deployed his men in the most advantageous fighting positions and then led them into the hand-to-hand combat which was raging on the position. Disregarding all thoughts of personal safety, Lieutenant Cerri climbed to the top of the trenches and remained constantly exposed to direct fire and shouted words of encouragement to his men. While in this position, Lieutenant Cerri was wounded by hostile grenade fragments and fell down a steep bank directly into the path of the enemy's main assault wave. Though in great pain, Lieutenant Cerri fired into the enemy ranks until he lost consciousness. As remnants of the enemy force commenced a withdrawal, several of their soldiers dragged Lieutenant Cerri back toward hostile positions. After the battle, an Allied search patrol found Lieutenant Cerri's lifeless body entangled in barbed wire a few hundred yards in front of enemy lines Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 733 (August 8, 1953) Home Town: La Salle, Illinois.

Son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe V. Cerri Sr., of Cedar Point, Illinois.