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 First Lieutenant (Infantry) Martin G. Griffin, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near St. Etienne, France, 6 October 1918. After the major and adjutant of the battalion had been killed, Lieutenant Griffin took command of the battalion and led it in an attack over difficult terrain, under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. He gained his objective and held it.