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 Private Joseph H. Laughlin (ASN: 56681), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company A, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Cantigny, France, May 28 – 30, 1918. In command of the battalion runners, Private Laughlin volunteered to carry messages through the unusually heavy fire. During a very critical period of the fighting, he twice went through a machine-gun barrage to the front line to obtain information when no word from that source had been received for a long period.