The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Ivan Leroy Lautenbacher, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company C, 316th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Verdun, France, 2 October 1918. Although suffering from a severe illness Lieutenant Lautenbacher refused to be evacuated and remained with his organization. When his company commander was seriously wounded, he took command of the company and pressed the attack until he received wounds which result in his making the supreme sacrifice.