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 Sergeant William C. Taylor (ASN: 1308581), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company H, 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in the Butry Woods, France, 9 October 1918. Upon learning that an advanced platoon was under heavy enemy machine-gun fire from the front and flanks, Sergeant Taylor, on his own initiative, took a squad of men and an automatic rifle and went to the assistance of the platoon. Despite the heavy fire, he succeeded in compelling the enemy to withdraw from their positions and thereby enabled the battalion to resume its advance. He was later wounded in the leg and arms in attempting to bring up reinforcements across an open space swept by machine-gun fire.