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 Lieutenant (Corps of Engineers) Harry R. Howe, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 101st Engineers, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in the Bois-de-la Croisette, France, 14 July 1918. After being badly burned on the left hand by the explosion of a mustard-gas shell, First Lieutenant Howe declined an opportunity to be relieved and worked for more than an hour under heavy gas and high-explosive shell bombardment, getting his men out of the area of concentrated gas. Unable to use his left hand, he remained on duty during the July offensive.