James T. Powell
Home Town: Bradford, PA
Distinguished Service Cross
World War I
U.S. Army
General Orders No. No. 145, W.D., 1918
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to James T. Powell, Corporal, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Fismette, France, August 9, 1918. When a platoon of his company was held up by sniper fire, Corporal Powell, undaunted, voluntarily crawled through holes in walls and over roofs, located the enemy sniper, and killed him, enabling the platoon to proceed without further loss. Later in the engagement, when reinforcements and ammunition were needed, he volunteered and swam the Vesle River under machine-gun fire.