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 Corporal Edward Marion Kessler (ASN: 2176452), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company F, 353d Infantry Regiment, 89th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Flirey, France, 12 September 1918. When his platoon was held up by heavy machine-gun fire in front of the Bois-de-Mort Mare, Corporal Kessler advanced with his squad and succeeded in putting the machine guns out of action without losing a man. Farther on in the woods, two more machine guns were encountered, firing from a dugout. This soldier went out alone and silenced the guns with hand grenades, thereby facilitating the advance of the entire company.