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) Walter G. Kimball, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company I, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near St. Mihiel, France, 12 September 1918. While advancing in the first wave of the advance of 12 September he was forced to deploy his platoon over a wide sector in thickly wooded territory in order to maintain contact and liaison with the unit on the flank. The crews of several machine-gun nests were routed, and in one instance he captured a machine-gun crew assisted by only two of his men.