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 Sergeant James Fitzgerald (ASN: 552557), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company M, 38th Infantry Regiment, 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, during the battle of the Marne, France, 19 July 1918. Sergeant Fitzgerald repeatedly volunteered for patrol duty during the period of the Germans’ occupation south of the Marne, and while a member of a reconnoitering patrol, his patrol was fired upon by machine guns from a German strong point. The patrol withdrew with the exception of Sergeant Fitzgerald, who remained in the vicinity under a heavy fire and courageously continued his reconnaissance until his mission had been accomplished, after which he killed two Germans and returned with valuable information.