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 First Sergeant Howard Frederick Mercer (ASN: 1708040), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company C, 308th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Stonne, France, 6 November 1918. Voluntarily leading a patrol for a flank attack on the town of Stonne, through unusual artillery fire and exacting machine-gun fire, Sergeant Mercer, leaving his patrol, went forward alone to draw fire from the nests in order to divert the enemy’s attention from the attacking patrol.