By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), Corporal Roy E. Deselms (ASN: 2181384), United States Army, is cited for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him. Corporal Deselms distinguished himself by gallantry in action while serving with Company G, 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in action near Varennes, France, 26 September 1918. With utter disregard for his personal safety, Corporal Deselms took charge of a squad whose leader had been killed, and voluntarily led and assisted a tank in dispersing several machine gun nests which were inflicting severe losses on his comrades.