The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Private Francis Dugan (ASN: 1943639), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company A, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in the Argonne sector, France, October 5 – 6, 1918. When his section leader was killed, Private Dugan took command of the section and led it against a machine-gun nest, capturing three machine guns and prisoners. He was dangerously wounded in this encounter, but continued to lead his men forward until he fell exhausted from loss of blood.