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 John Wallace McAfee (ASN: 2184365), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company D, 356th Infantry Regiment, 89th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Pouilly, France, 8 November 1918. While a member of a patrol sent out to reconnoiter the banks of the Meuse River, and when all means of crossing the river had been destroyed, Corporal McAfee, with another soldier, volunteered to swim across, though the other side was held in force by the enemy. Before reaching the opposite bank, he was seized with a cramp, caused by the extremely low temperature of the water, and was drowned.