William H. Eckel

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to William H. Eckel, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Ponchaux, France, October 7, 1918. When heavy fire was encountered from enemy machine-gun nests located in a railroad cut, Lieutenant Eckel led his platoon in several successful attacks on these nests, personally killing and wounding a number of the enemy with his pistol and disarming one of them in a hand-to-hand struggle. He then reorganized the captured position and held out against the enemy with such men as he had left, opening fire himself with an automatic rifle, which he secured from a dead soldier. While attempting to destroy some enemy machine-gun nests in front of his platoon this gallant officer was mortally wounded by a shell fragment.