Rank: First Lieutenant
Unit: C Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 1203 – Tank Unit Commander
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Unit awards: Presidential Unit Citation, Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Regular
Date of birth: 9-Dec-1943
Hometown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Marital status: Never Married
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: Jun-1966
Start of tour: 27-Jul-1967
Incident date: 23-May-1968
Date of casualty: 23-May-1968
Age at death: 24
Cause of death: Hostile, died. Grenade. Multiple fragmentation wounds.
Clifton Pearce Moak died from wounds received while on combat operation when engaged hostile force in firefight.
Location of fatality: Hua Nghia, South Vietnam
Place of interment: Greenoaks Memorial Park, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
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BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
POSTHUMOUS
FIRST LIEUTENANT CLIFTON PEARCE MOAK, ARMOR
23 MAY 1968
C TROOP, 1st SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
First Lieutenant Moak distinguished himself by valorous actions on 23 May 1969, while serving as Patrol Leader of an ambush patrol with Troop C, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the vicinity of Cu Chi, Vietnam. During a heated engagement with a determined Viet Cong force, Lieutenant Moak repeatedly exposed himself to a heavy volume of hostile fire in order to direct the fire of his men. His courageous actions prevented the insurgents from gaining the advantage of maneuvering between his ambush patrol and an advancing reaction force. In the process, Lieutenant Moak was suddenly struck and mortally wounded by enemy small arms fire. First Lieutenant Moak’s personal bravery and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Headquarters, 9th Infantry Division General Orders No. 4932 (22 June 1968)