Julius O. Yuill (Aka: Julius Donovan O’Dell)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Julius O. Yuill, Sergeant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Epinonville, France, September 26, 1918. Accompanied by one man, Sergeant Yuill went forward to a German trench and bombed it, killing a German officer and two soldiers, and held the trench until reinforced by a party of four. Fearing that the Germans in the trench would escape, he led these men 500 meters through sniper and machine-gun fire, cut off their means of escape and captured 27 prisoners. On the same day he killed an officer, who with two men were attempting to set up a machine-gun to ambush the command group. He followed the two men into their dugout and killed one of them; and, with the help of other members of the command thoroughly mopped up the place.