For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Commanding Officer of the Third Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Marines First Marine Division in connection with operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 13 May 1968 the Third Battalion launched Operation Allen Brook against a numerically superior North Vietnamese Artny force occupying well prepared defensive positions on Go Noi Island in Quang Nam Province. When the advance company became heavily engaged with the enemy on 17 May, Lieutenant Colonel WOODHAM unhesitatingly led the remainder of his battalion in a heliborne attack to assist the besieged unit. Undaunted by a heavy volume of automatic weapons and mortar fire, he repeatedly advanced to dangerously exposed positions as he aggressively deployed his companies and engaged the hostile force. Displaying outstanding professional knowledge and superior tactical ability, he ably planned and directed supporting arms fire and air strikes, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and enabled his battalion to accomplish its mission with a minimum number of fhendly casualties. His bold initiative and exceptional tactical ability were instrumental in his battalion accounting for over 200 North Vietnamese soldiers confirmed killed and the seizure of a large number of weapons. By his courage, superb leadership and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of great personal danger, Lieutenant Colonel WOODHAM upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the United States Naval Service.