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) Marvin James Menefee, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, at Molleville Farm, France, 12 October 1918, while in charge of a 37-mm. gun section in advance of the assaulting troops, Lieutenant Menefee displayed unusual courage by operating the gun himself after his gunners had been killed, thereby reducing a machine-gun nest which had been holding up the line.