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) William Hepburn, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 102d Infantry Regiment, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Verdun, France, 24 October 1918. With only a handful of men, Lieutenant Hepburn charged a machine-gun nest, killing or wounding the whole crew. He silenced the fire of five different guns, and, in taking the last, he was severely wounded about the head. He continued, however, until his mission was accomplished and the gun silenced.