The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Ludovicus M. M. Van Iersel (ASN: 40858), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 9 November 1918, while serving with Company M, 9th Infantry, 2d Division, A.E.F., in action at Mouzon, France. While a member of the reconnaissance patrol, sent out at night to ascertain the condition of a damaged bridge, Sergeant Van Iersel volunteered to lead a party across the bridge in the face of heavy machinegun and rifle fire from a range of only 75 yards. Crawling alone along the debris of the ruined bridge he came upon a trap, which gave away and precipitated him into the water. In spite of the swift current he succeeded in swimming across the stream and found a lodging place among the timbers on the opposite bank. Disregarding the enemy fire, he made a careful investigation of the hostile position by which the bridge was defended and then returned to the other bank of the river, reporting this valuable information to the battalion commander.