Earl R. Fretz
Home Town: Dorchester, MA
General Orders No. No. 5, W.D., 1920
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Earl R. Fretz, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Courchamps, France, July 18, 1918. After all the officers of Company E, 59th Infantry, had become casualties, Lieutenant Fretz voluntarily assumed command of the Infantry company in addition to his machine-gun platoon and personally led it forward to its objective. The gallantry displayed by this officer while exposed to heavy machine-gun and artillery fire was an important factor in the success of the advance.
