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 First Class Leonard H. F. Wessel (ASN: 366819), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company K, 114th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Verdun, France, October 12 – 14, 1918. Private First Class Wessel performed his duties as a runner under heavy shell fire three days and nights without rest, and when the relay stations between the battalion and regimental posts of command had been wiped out he continued to carry messages the entire distances between the two posts.