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 (Field Artillery) George Rittenhouse Nixon, United States Army Air Service, for repeated acts of extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 3d Balloon Squadron, U.S. Army Air Service, A.E.F., near Domevre-en-Haye, France, 28 August 1918, and near Malancourt, France. 28 September 1918. On August 28 Lieutenant Nixon was locating active enemy batteries from his balloon and was attacked several times by enemy planes, but refused to descend until one had set fire to the balloon. On 28 September while he was on a reglage mission, five enemy planes fired at him. He remained in the basket until the balloon was a mass of flames, and one of the enemy aviators followed him to the ground firing at him. Despite his narrow escape, he immediately re-ascended.