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 First Lieutenant (Infantry) John Cannon Paisley, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in the Belleau Wood, France, 21 June 1918. While leading his platoon against a machine-gun nest, Lieutenant Paisley encountered several enemy spies, who attempted to give him orders and confuse his men. He killed the officer in charge and several of the men and continued in the attack. Later in the day he was hit by a 37-millimeter shell and instantly killed.