Alva W. Palmer
Home Town: Platte City, MO
Distinguished Service Cross
World War I
U.S. Army
General Orders No. 59, W.D., 1919
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Alva W. Palmer, Corporal, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action south of Exermont, France, September 28, 1918. When his battalion commander asked for a volunteer to carry a message to the battalion commander on the right, Corporal Palmer (then private) volunteered and carried the message through an area exposed to intense machine-gun and artillery fire. By his utter disregard for his own personal safety, and his example of bravery, he inspired all those near him.