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) Roger Walton Stembridge, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 21st Machine-Gun Battalion, 7th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Vieville-en-Haye, France, 31 October 1918 to 1 November 1918. Although wounded by a shell fragment and suffering from the effects of an anti-tetanic serum, Lieutenant Stembridge continued to lead his platoon through the night of October 31 and the offensive operation of 1 November under heavy enemy shell fire, encouraging his men by his gallant conduct.