Albert Louis Hechtl
Home Town: Canton, OH
Distinguished Service Cross
U.S. Army
World War I
General Orders No. No. 139, W.D., 1918
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Albert Louis Hechtl, Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Montfaucon, France, September 26 to October 1, 1918. Throughout the five days’ offensive Sergeant Hechtl commanded his platoon with rare coolness and was always in the first wave of his company, facing the greatest danger. He personally took charge of a thin line of outposts on the flank and broke up a German counterattack that was forming under the protection of a barrage. On the fourth day of the drive this soldier was severely gassed, but he concealed this fact from his officers until he was exhausted.
