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 Albert Louis Hechtl (ASN: 1520622), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company C, 146th Infantry Regiment, 37th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Montfaucon, France, September 26 to 1 October 1918. Throughout the five days’ offensive Sergeant Hechtl commanded his platoon with rare coolness and was always in the first wave of his company, facing the greatest danger. He personally took charge of a thin line of outposts on the flank and broke up a German counterattack that was forming under the protection of a barrage. On the fourth day of the drive this soldier was severely gassed, but he concealed this fact from his officers until he was exhausted.