John Y. Stokes, Jr.

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to John Y. Stokes, Jr., First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Etain, France, September 16, 1918. After their own formation had been broken up, Lieutenant Stokes and his pilot voluntarily continued on their bombing mission with planes from another squadron. Although their plane was thrown out of control by antiaircraft fire, they proceeded to their objective and dropped their bombs. Their motor then died completely, and they were attacked by an enemy combat plane, but they fought off the attacking machine and reached the allied lines, where their plane crashed in a forest.