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 William C. Coughlin (ASN: 1754113), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company L, 312th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, at Grand Pre, France, 23 October 1918. Private First Class Coughlin volunteered and maintained liaison with a company which had been cut off from the rest of the battalion, making several trips across open ground for 150 yards under intense machine-gun fire.