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 Corporal William J. Walsh (ASN: 1782946), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company H, 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Montfaucon, France, 27 September 1918. While leading a scouting patrol 300 meters in advance of his company, Corporal Walsh was fired upon from enemy machine-gun points. Several of his patrol were wounded, but after carrying one man to shelter and assisting the others he continued under heavy fire, locating six machine-gun nests and shooting the entire crew of one of them.