Knox B. Birney

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Knox B. Birney, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action in the Claires- Chenes Woods, France, October 20, 1918. Lieutenant Birney on his own initiative took 12 men from his platoon and charged a number of machine-gun nests which had been holding up the advance for two hours. Attacking them across open ground, he cleaned out the nests and captured 42 prisoners. In attacking other nests in the vicinity he lost his life. His courageous act made it possible for the attacking troops to gain and hold the woods with minimum number of casualties.