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 First Lieutenant (Corps of Engineers) James Finley Brown, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 302d Engineers, 77th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, at Villers-devant-Mouzon, France, 7 November 1918. First Lieutenant Brown displayed remarkable bravery in reconnoitering sites for foot bridges across the Meuse River and later directing the construction of these bridges under heavy machine-gun fire. While so engaged, he was killed by a sniper.