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 to Colonel (Infantry) Irvin Leland Hunt, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. Colonel Hunt served with conspicuous success as the Officer in Charge of Civil Affairs in the occupied area with the 3d Army and with the American Forces in Germany. With excellent judgment and sound adherence to well-established policies in a field of intricate problems affecting the civil population, he perfected through his wide comprehension of conditions, an effective organization, which contributed materially to the efficiency of those forces.