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 Private Robert Fletcher Higley, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the Forty-Fifth Company, Fifth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., in action at Belleau Wood, in the Chateau-Thierry Sector, France, 6 June 1918. Under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, Private Higley went forward to the vicinity of the position occupied by a platoon of his company with utter disregard of his own personal danger and assisted a badly wounded officer of his company to shelter. Learning that this advanced platoon was in need of ammunition and water, Private Higley again gallantly made his way to the exposed position with canteens of water and bandoliers of ammunition.