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 Sergeant Cornelius E. Gallagher (ASN: 2411781), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company C, 309th Machine-Gun Battalion, 78th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Grand Pre, France, October 28 – 29, 1918. Although painfully wounded in the shoulder, Sergeant Gallagher remained at his post for six hours, without reporting his wound. Even then he requested permission to remain, and, having obtained it, he encouraged his men to withstand a threatened counterattack. He left the field only when ordered to do so.