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 Joseph E. Coffey (ASN: 42227), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company C, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Soissons, France, 20 July 1918. After all the officers of his company had been killed or wounded and his company commander had taken command of the battalion, Sergeant Coffey unhesitatingly took command of and skillfully led the company forward in the face of a heavy hostile fire and successfully took their objective. On 8 October 1918, in the Argonne Forest, after being severely wounded, he refused to be evacuated and continued to advance with his platoon. Displaying the greatest courage and gallantry, he voluntarily attempted to save the life of his company commander, who had been severely wounded by enemy machine-gun fire. It was during this heroic effort that Sergeant Coffey was killed.