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 Mechanic Paul P. Genest (ASN: 51889), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company L, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Vaux, France, 1 July 1918. Mechanic Genest picked up a live grenade thrown into his group from an enemy dugout and hurled it back into the dugout, killing and wounding a number of the enemy and saving the lives of several comrades.