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 Patrick J. Clark (ASN: 107637), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company C, 5th Machine-Gun Battalion, 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Thiaucourt, France, 13 September 1918. On two occasions Private Clark unhesitatingly went through heavy machine-gun fire, carrying messages. Later, when volunteers were called for to take a message through a violent barrage, he was the first to respond.