Aniello Spampanato

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Aniello Spampanato, Private, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Montfaucon, France, October 25, 1918. Private Spampanato was on a patrol with three other soldiers, when they were fired upon by a hostile machine-gun 50 yards in advance of the line. After several hand grenades had been thrown at the machine-gun nest one of the crew was seen crawling away. Private Spampanato killed this man with his rifle and then rushed the nest alone, capturing the gun and three surviving members of the crew, two others having been killed by hand grenades.