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 William J. Cahill (ASN: 1684623), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company D, 59th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Bois-de-la-Cote-Lemont, France, 3 October and the Bois-du-Fays, France, 9 October 1918. On Octobers, while acting in the capacity of company runner, Private Cahill carried messages to two platoons of his company, through a heavy fire of machine guns and snipers. He successfully delivered the messages, after crawling for a distance of 400 yards. On 9 October in company with one other runner, he delivered messages to a platoon which was engaged in combat liaison duty in the Bois-de-Fay, passing through a severe artillery fire while in the execution of this mission.