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This Remembrance Profile was originally created by SSG Carl Elliott - Deceased
Casualty Info
Home Town Jamaica Plains
Casualty Date Nov 11, 1918
Cause KIA-Died of Wounds
Reason Gun, Small Arms Fire
Location France
Conflict World War I
Location of Interment American Cemetery - St. Mihiel, France
This ribbon will display Multiple Award devices automatically based on the total number of awards listed
Details Behind Award
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Francis R. Austin, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division, A.E.F., near Haumont, France, 11 November 1918. First Lieutenant Austin led a platoon of machine guns and two 1-pounder guns with their crews under cover of a fog within the enemy's wire and attacked at close range a strong point held by twenty-five men and ten machine-guns. After this position had been reduced, concentrated machine-gun fire from the ranks forced Lieutenant Austin and his party to withdraw. Exposing himself in order to place his men under cover, he was mortally wounded, but he directed the dressing of the wounds of his men and their evacuation before he would accept any aid for himself. He died a few hours later.