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 Corporal James L. Courter (ASN: 199132), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company C, 101st Field Signal Battalion, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, at Marcheville, France, 26 September 1918. When telephone communication to the rear had been cut and its reestablishment was impossible because of the intensity of the bombardment, Corporal Courter voluntarily carried important messages to the rear through a violent artillery barrage and machine-gun and rifle fire.