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 Dan Warfield Hirtle, United States Army, for heroism while serving as a member of the 15th Company, Rhode Island Coast Artillery Regiment, in freely and at the risk of his own life entering a burning building and rescuing an inmate at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on 6 April 1917.