The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Private Howard Coffeen Cook (MCSN: 90558/122619), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the 95th Company, 6th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F. in action near Thiaucourt, France, 15 September 1918. Private Cook repeatedly volunteered and carried messages for his battalion commander through severe machine-gun and artillery fire. He also exposed himself in an open field for several hours under fire, in order to locate enemy snipers and machine-gun nests.