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 First Lieutenant (Infantry) Alfred Wild Gardner, Jr., United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in the Argonne Forest, France, 3 October 1918. Attacking enemy machine-gun nests, Lieutenant Gardner displayed the highest courage when he led his company up a steep slope in the face of murderous fire. Before he could accomplish his objective he was killed.