William A. Hartman

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to William A. Hartman, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Fismes, France, August 4, 1918. Sergeant First Class Hartman was a member of a patrol sent out from the battalion post of command at midnight, to reconnoiter the Vesle River front, near Fismes, France, for the location of possible sites for pontoon bridges and of material for making structures. Despite heavy artillery and machine-gun fire that forced the patrol to scatter and separated him from the Lieutenant in charge, he continued the work on his own initiative, and, acting entirely without orders, started his detail on the actual construction of rafts for the pontoon bridges. His courage, ability as a leader, and his inflexible determination made the reconnaissance a complete success.