The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal in lieu of the Certificate of Merit previously issued to Sergeant Max Blouse, United States Army, for distinguished courage exhibited by him while serving as a member of Company K, 26th Infantry Regiment, in going, at the peril of his life, to the rescue of comrades and natives who had been upset in the Pambujan River, Samar, Philippine Islands, on 21 January 1902, and were in imminent danger of death from drowning.