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 Captain (Infantry) John Warren Cotton, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 2d Machine-Gun Battalion, 1st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Soissons, France, 20 July 1918. When the advancing infantry line had been held up by heavy artillery and machine-gun fire and all the officers had become casualties, Captain Cotton sent what remained of his machine-gun company to protect the flanks and then voluntarily reorganized the assaulting line, breaking up a hostile counterattack which had been launched from the hill in front of them. Twice during the action he personally led tanks forward in advance of the line and reduced hostile machine-gun nests. As he was leading the attacking waves forward in the face of heavy fire he was seriously wounded in the head by a machine-gun bullet, but he pushed on until he was forced to stop by loss of blood.