On March 2, 1968, in Vietnam, Specialist Four Nicholas Cutinha was serving as a machine gunner with Company C, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division when his unit was ambushed by a battalion-sized enemy force using small arms, mortars, RPGs, and automatic weapons.

In the opening moments, chaos erupted—communications were lost, the company commander was wounded, and casualties mounted rapidly.
Realizing the company was pinned down and leaderless, Spec. Cutinha moved to the front under fire, firing his machine gun directly into the attacking enemy and drawing fire away from his fellow soldiers. He was seriously wounded in the leg but refused to stop.

As the assault intensified and nearly half the company became casualties, Cutinha assumed command, organized a fighting withdrawal, and provided covering fire to evacuate the wounded. When his machine gun was destroyed and he was wounded again, he crawled under relentless enemy fire to reach another weapon—and kept fighting.

Refusing aid and focused only on protecting others, Cutinha held his ground and continued firing until he was mortally wounded.

His actions killed 15 enemy soldiers and directly saved the lives of at least nine Americans.
For his unmatched courage and self-sacrifice, Nicholas Cutinha was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

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