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 Sergeant William B. Cochran (ASN: 2385937), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company A, 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in the Bois-de-Rappes, France, 12 October 1918. Disregarding his own personal safety, Sergeant Cochran assisted in reorganizing his company under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire and leading it against machine-gun nests, which were holding up the advance of his battalion. He was killed in action during this engagement.