Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Distinguished Service Cross

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    Corporal

    Batallion:

    12th Machine-Gun Battalion

    Division:

    4th Division, American Expeditionary Forces

    Action Date:

    August 10, 1918

    War Department, General Orders No. 50 (1919)

    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 Corporal William Holroyd McGinnis (ASN: 567996), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company D, 12th Machine-Gun Battalion, 4th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Chery-Chartreuve, France, 10 August 1918. An incendiary shell exploded near a large ammunition dump, near which his company was resting, wounding several of his comrades and setting fire to a portion of the dump. While a second explosion was imminent, Corporal McGinnis rushed into the flames and dragged a wounded man to safety.