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 Captain (Air Service) Reed Gresham Landis, United States Army Air Service, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 40th Squadron, Royal Air Force (Attached), U.S. Army Air Service, A.E.F., west of Douai and south of Vitry, 8 August 1918; west of Brieve, 12 August 1918; and over Lens, 13 August 1918. During a general engagement west of Douai and south of Vitry on 8 August 1918, Captain Landis attacked and destroyed two enemy planes and one balloon in the course of a single flight. During a general engagement west of Brieve on 12 August 1918, he singled out an enemy plane and shot it down. While on patrol over Lens on 13 August 1918, he engaged four enemy tri-planes and one biplane in decisive combat, and, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, he destroyed two of their planes and forced the others to withdraw. On 19 August 1918, while leading a patrol of five planes he encountered and unhesitatingly attacked eight enemy Fokker scouts, one of which he shot down. During the combat several other enemy planes joined the action from above and observing one of these attacking a member of his patrol, he climbed up under it, and firing at point-blank range shot it down.