Lauriano Martinez

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Lauriano Martinez, Private, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Fismes, France, August 26, 1918. With two other soldiers, Private Martinez crawled 300 yards in front of our line through the enemy’s wire and attacked a hostile machine-gun nest. The enemy crew opened fire on them at a range of only ten yards and resisted stubbornly but they succeeded in killing three of the crew and driving off the others with clubbed rifles. They returned to our lines under heavy fire.