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 (Corps of Engineers) James Henderson Spafford, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 2d Engineers, 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, at St. Etienne, France, 9 October 1918. Seeing a combat patrol suddenly fired upon by an enemy machine-gun nest and hard pressed, Lieutenant Spafford went to its relief, courageously leading an attack on the machine nest. Although wounded in the arm during the attack, he continued in the action of the attack until he received a second wound, which caused his death.