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 Private James F. McCrudden (ASN: 2450857), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company M, 312th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Grand Pre, France, 26 October 1918. Acting on his own initiative, after all runners had failed to deliver a message, Private McCrudden carried a message through an intense machine-gun fire for the captain of his company. Upon reaching the company he found that the captain had been killed and immediately returned through the same sweeping fire to report the fact.