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 Sergeant John Joseph Nealis (ASN: 1200903), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 102d Field Signal Battalion, 27th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Ronssoy, France, 29 September 1918. During the operations against the Hindenburg line he, while in charge of telephone communications between battalion headquarters and forward positions, accompanied the advancing infantry forward, established his advance post, where one of his assistants was killed by shell fire and he himself wounded, and under constant bombardment kept the telephone lines in operation, remaining at his post for nine hours, until wounded a second time. When completely exhausted he turned over his apparatus to the man sent to relieve him. His extreme gallantry, courage, and bravery afforded a magnificent example to the combat troops who witnessed it.