William H. Vail

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to William H. Vail, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action at Stenay, France, November 6, 1918, Lieutenant Vail, while on patrol, engaged four hostile pursuit planes which were about to attack an accompanying plane. Almost immediately he was attacked by five more enemy planes, all of which he continued to fight until he was severely wounded and his plane disabled. He glided to the ground, abandoning the flight only when his machine fell to pieces near the ground.