The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Sergeant Murl Corbett (MCSN: 185), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the Forty-Ninth Company, Fifth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., in action near Belleau Wood, France, June 6 – 25, 1918. Finding himself one of a few non-commissioned officers left alive after a desperate attack by the enemy, First Sergeant Corbett organized a defensive position under heavy fire, withstanding numerous counterattacks. On the night of June 12 he led a patrol of three men into the enemy’s lines, secured valuable information, and although wounded in the eye, assisted in carrying from “No Man’s Land” men more seriously wounded than himself, refusing evacuation until receiving preemptory orders from his company commander. Realizing his battalion was hard pressed for non commissioned officers, he left the hospital without permission, returned to the front lines, and brought up reinforcements under heavy shell fire at a critical time. On 4 October 1918, on Blanc Mount Ridge, Champagne, France, as Battalion Intelligence officer, he fearlessly exposed himself to enemy fire to secure important information. Severely wounded by a bursting shell, and incapacitated by gas, he refused aid from comrades in order that the attack might not be delayed.