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 Sergeant Clifton Crawford Burnett (ASN: 45910), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Headquarters, 1st Infantry Brigade, 1st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Montrefagne, France, 9 October 1918. On 9 October Sergeant Burnett volunteered and established liaison between battalion commanders and brigade headquarters, under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. On the same day he twice volunteered and carried messages and acting as guide across fields subjected to shell and machine-gun fire. He repeatedly repaired telephone wires when no lineman were available and continued this work through shell fire and gas bombardment, although four of the men working with him were wounded.