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 Robert E. Crawford (ASN: 915492), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company D, 7th Engineers, 5th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Verdun, France, 4 November 1918. When three boats in a pontoon footbridge across the Meuse River were destroyed by artillery fire, Corporal Crawford volunteered and swam into the river under heavy shell fire and, by holding up the deck until new boats were launched and placed in position, permitted the uninterrupted crossing of the infantry.