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 Fred W. Lapean (ASN: 543305), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Medical Detachment, 7th Infantry Regiment (Attached), 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, north of Cierges, France, 30 September 1918. Under observation of the enemy and subjected to heavy machine-gun fire, Sergeant Lapean, on his own initiative, worked his way from shell hole to shell hole in order to give first aid to three wounded men who were lying in an open field next to the Cierges-Romagne Road.