James Manning (Aka: Frank E. Bell)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to James Manning, Corporal, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near St. Thibaut, France, August 8, 1918. Corporal Manning was one of our men who volunteered and swam the Vesle River for the purpose of doing work on the opposite bank necessary in the construction of a footbridge. With another soldier he succeeded in felling a large tree in the face of heavy machine-gun and one-pounder fire after the remainder of the platoon had withdrawn.