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 Captain (Infantry) Alan Wood Lukens, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 316th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near La Madeleine Ferme, north of Montfaucon, France, 29 September 1918. the attacking forces of his regiment having been checked in their advance by strongly-held enemy positions, a temporary withdrawal of the advance elements was ordered in order that the supporting artillery might lay down a barrage in the woods occupied by the extreme front-line elements. Upon learning that the order for withdrawal had apparently failed to reach a few of his men who still remained in the woods, Captain Lukens himself made his way to the woods, under a hail of enemy machine-gun fire, found his men, and directed them to places of comparative safety, and, while so engaged, was himself killed by enemy machine-gun fire. His superb devotion to the men of his command served to incite them to heroic endeavors.