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 Private First Class Charlie E. Smith (ASN: 1309595), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company L, 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Ponchaux, France, 7 October 1918. Although severely wounded in the leg by machine-gun fire, Private First Class Smith continued to advance with his platoon, securing the rifle of a dead soldier when his own was struck by shrapnel and rendered unserviceable.