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 Shanklin Ebenezer Gilkeson (ASN: 7111), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 167th Ambulance Company, 42d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, at St. Benoit, France, 16 September 1918. While the regimental dressing station was under heavy shell fire Sergeant Gilkeson volunteered to lead a squad of litter bearers to rescue several wounded men of another regiment who had been caught in a heavy barrage. Although he was wounded himself, he succeeded in leading the squad for a distance of 3 kilometers through a constant severe bombardment under direct observation of the enemy artillery and snipers to an outpost outside of his own regimental sector. He brought in one wounded officer and seven severely wounded soldiers without losing any of his men.