John T. Owens

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to John T. Owens, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Verdun, France, November 4, 1918. After locating three machine-gun positions. Lieutenant Owens put one of them out of action with an automatic rifle by killing the gunners and forcing the carriers to abandon the gun. He was killed by machine-gun fire while reorganizing his company after a local counterattack.