The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Major (Infantry) John Buchanan Richardson, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 306th Machine-Gun Battalion, 77th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Ville-Savoye, France, 21 August 1918. When the advance on the Tannerio by a company of the 308th Infantry was being held up by a heavy hostile fire, Major Richardson, then commanding the 306th Machine-Gun Battalion, which had a platoon of machine guns supporting the attack, seeing that the attacking troops were wavering on account of an inexperienced leader and under a heavy hostile fire, with great gallantry and the utmost disregard of personal danger, took command of the company and led it through heavy artillery and machine-gun fire to its objective, which was captured and later consolidated by a skillful disposition of machine guns under his direction.



