Private First Class Oscar P. Austin of the United States Marine Corps received the Medal of Honor posthumously for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Assistant Machine Gunner with Company E, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division during operations against enemy forces in the Republic of Vietnam. During the early morning hours of February 23, 1969, when his observation post came under a fierce ground attack by a large North Vietnamese Army force supported by hand grenades, satchel charges, and small arms fire, he left the relative security of his fighting hole to reach a wounded companion who had fallen unconscious in a dangerously exposed position and moved to assist him to cover. As he neared the casualty, he saw an enemy grenade land nearby and instantly leaped between the injured Marine and the grenade, absorbing the blast. Despite his painful injuries, he then saw a North Vietnamese Army soldier aiming a weapon at his unconscious companion and threw himself between the wounded Marine and the hostile soldier, receiving the mortal wound. His indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service, and he gave his life for his country.