Howard G. Rath

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Howard G. Rath, Second Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action between Chambley and Xammes, France, September 13, 1918. While acting as leading observer of a flight of three planes, he was attacked by 15 enemy planes. In spite of the fact that his formation was surrounded by an enemy five times as large, he carried out successfully his mission and bombed his objective. In the return running fight he and his pilot continued the unequal fight and succeeded in returning to their airdrome with valuable information.