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 Benjamin H. Harrel (ASN: 1977470), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company K, 131st Infantry Regiment, 33d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Consenvoye, France, 10 October 1918. Upon discovering an enemy machine-gun nest beyond the objective, on his own initiative Sergeant Harrel crawled out with two men, and though subjected to heavy fire flanked the position, captured the machine gun and 31 prisoners, one of them an officer, killing two of the enemy who tried to escape.