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 Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Edgar W. Akers, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 308th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Binarville, France, 28 September 1918. During the advance in the Argonne Forest, France, Lieutenant Akers, having been severely wounded, led his platoon in a successful assault on two machine-gun nests, thereby aiding the advance of his battalion sergeant.