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) Royal Howard Gould Smith, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 353d Infantry Regiment, 89th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Remonville, France, 1 November 1918. Lieutenant Smith was a member of a group of several officers and soldiers, who armed only with pistols, were cut off from the battalion headquarters by the fire of three enemy machine-guns. Being unable to reach the enemy with pistol fire, they were in danger of annihilation when Lieutenant Smith, with great daring, dashed from cover through the machine-gun fire and returned with & platoon of infantry, with which he successfully attacked the enemy machine-gun and thereby saved the lives of the party. La accomplishing this feat, Lieutenant Smith was wounded in the leg by a machine-gun bullet, but he continued in action, refusing to be evacuated.