Thomas L. Gordon
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army

On 25 September 1943, First Lieutenant Thomas L. Gordon was serving with Company A, 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion (Separate), Office of Strategic Services Operational Group (Provisional).

On the night of 24 September, 1LT Gordon’s unit was in action against German forces in the vicinity of Barchetta, Corsica. 1LT Gordon led a raiding party of 9 American enlisted men through German lines and, the following morning, they took positions behind enemy defensive posts. There, they destroyed a concentration of German vehicles loaded with enemy troops preparing to reinforce a besieged unit under attack by main Allied Forces. When the Germans released an intense barrage of mortar and artillery fire upon his area, 1LT Gordon remained in his position, which had very little natural cover. He did this to ensure that no aid would reach the besieged Germans that were controlling a strategic valley road between Barchetta and Bastia. Shortly after the barrage began, 1LT Gordon was killed by mortar fire. 1LT Gordon’s selfless, courageous actions and extraordinary heroism that day, at the cost of his life, earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Medals and Awards

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Bronze Star
World War II Victory Medal

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Corps of Engineers) Thomas L. Gordon (ASN: 0-1106764), United States Army, for The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Corps of Engineers) Thomas L. Gordon (ASN: 0-1106764), United States Army, 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.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army-Mediterranean Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 70 (April 17, 1945)

Death and Burial

First Lieutenant Thomas L. Gordon is buried at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Lazio, Italy in Plot J, Row 1, Grave 43.

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