Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Distinguished Service Cross

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    Private

    Batallion:

    101st Sanitary Train

    Division:

    26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces

    Action Date:

    September 25, 1918

    War Department, General Orders No. 137 (1918)

    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 Ernest Potter Runnells (ASN: 3273), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 101st Ambulance Company, 101st Sanitary Train, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, at Wadonville, France, 25 September 1918. Private Runnells assisted in establishing a dressing station in a dugout in an advanced position. When it was destroyed by a shell he worked unceasingly in the open under fire from enemy machine-guns and snipers, caring for the wounded. He remained at his post for several hours after his station had been ordered closed, permitting neither his own exhaustion nor the enemy fire to deter him from aiding the wounded.