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 Joe J. Donahue (ASN: 1427391), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Battery E, 323d Field Artillery, 83d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Bois-de-Consenvoye, France, 24 October 1918. Venturing over a road where three other runners had failed, Private Donahue carried a most important message over an area which was subjected to the fiercest kind of shelling. He chose this route to expedite the delivery, even though it was possible to make the journey by a longer but less dangerous route. He completed his mission, despite two severe wounds he had received on the way.