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 First class Wilbur Merton Chapin (ASN: 2192850), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Machine-Gun Company, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Fossoy, France, on the night of July 14 – 15, 1918, and near Cunel, France, 11 October 1918. During the German offensive of 15 July Private Chapin, while under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, carried three messages to front-line platoons. On 11 October in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, after all his squad were killed by a shell which buried the gun, Private Chapin dug the gun out and moved to a new position, where he resumed firing on the enemy and assisted in repulsing a counterattack.