The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant (Infantry) James Cowan Andes, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Soissons, France, 19 July 1918. Second Lieutenant Andes fearlessly led his platoon in the face of heavy machine-gun fire to a cave in which several hundred Germans had taken shelter. Rather than subject any of his men to extreme danger, he entered the cave alone and demanded the surrender of the enemy and was killed as a result of this heroic act.