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 Sergeant Edward Elbridge Nickles (ASN: 199025), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company B, 101st Field Signal Battalion, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Verdun, France, 24 October 1918. At a time when the telephone lines were badly needed, Sergeant Nickles remained without shelter for several hours, testing out the lines, until a shell burst in his vicinity, wounding him. He died from the effects in a few hours.