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 Private George W. Fearington, United States Army, for excellent conduct and heroic service while serving as a member of Troop I, 9th Cavalry Regiment, at Fort Duchesne, Utah, on 13 December 1899, when the troop barracks were destroyed by fire, having taken post on the peak of the seriously threatened building, remaining there in spite of the great heat, applying water until the danger was over.