The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the United States Army's second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree that they are above those required for all other U.S. combat decorations, but which do not meet the criteria for the Medal of Honor. The Army Distinguished Service Cross is equivalent to the Naval Services' Navy Cross, the Air and Space Forces' Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross. Prior to the creation of the Air Force Cross in 1960, airmen were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
The 77th Sustainment Brigade is a unit of the United States Army that inherited the lineage of the 77th Infantry Division, which served in World War I and World War II. Its headquarters has been at Fort Dix, New Jersey, since its predecessor command, the 77th Regional Readiness Command, was disestablished in 2008 from Fort Totten in Bayside, Queens, New York. Soldiers from the 77th have served in most major conflicts and contingency operations involving the US since World War II.
Louis Wardlaw Miles, was a World War I Medal of Honor recipient.
Major General Robert Alexander was a senior United States Army officer. He served in World War I, where he commanded the 77th Infantry Division, in which the famous Lost Battalion served, on the Western Front in 1918.
Charles White Whittlesey was a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient who led the Lost Battalion in the Meuse–Argonne offensive during World War I. He committed suicide by drowning when he jumped from a ship en route to Havana on November 26, 1921, at age 37.
Earle Davis Gregory was an American soldier and World War I Medal of Honor recipient for his heroic actions in 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France.
George Gibson McMurtry was a United States Army officer, a Medal of Honor recipient and a Harvard–educated Wall Street lawyer.
Colonel Nelson Miles Holderman was a United States Army officer, most notable for commanding a rifle company of the Lost Battalion during World War I for which he received the Medal of Honor. He was considered by many to be one of the most decorated American soldiers of the war.
The Lost Battalion is the name given to the nine companies of the US 77th Division, roughly 554 men, isolated by German forces during World War I after an American attack in the Argonne Forest in October 1918. Roughly 197 were killed in action and approximately 150 missing or taken prisoner before the 194 remaining men were rescued. They were led by Major Charles W. Whittlesey.
Sydney G. Gumpertz was a United States Army First Sergeant and recipient to the highest military decoration for valor in combat — the Medal of Honor — during World War I.
William Sawelson was a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for valor in combat. The medal was posthumously presented to his father Jacob L. Sawelson at Governors Island.
Michael B. Ellis was a United States Army sergeant and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War I.
Michael Aloysius Donaldson was a United States Army sergeant and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in France during World War I. He was a member of the Irish-American 165th Infantry Regiment. In addition to the Medal of Honor, Donaldson also received decorations from France and Montenegro and participated in the Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector campaigns.
Fred Eliphaz Smith was a United States Army officer and a posthumous recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He was born in Rockford, Illinois, and graduated from the University of North Dakota in the spring of 1894. He first joined the national guard in 1898, later transferring to the regular army in 1899.
Milo Lemert was a soldier in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I.
Archie A. Peck was a soldier in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I. While serving as an infantryman in the U.S. 77th Division during the Meuse–Argonne offensive, his unit found itself surrounded in the German lines. The unit would subsequently gain the moniker "The Lost Battalion" as a result of this incident. This was the bloodiest battle of the war involving U.S. troops. Private Peck acted gallantly while surrounded, saving two wounded men under machine gun fire.
Willie Sandlin was a soldier in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I.
Manuel Verdugo Mendoza was a United States Army master sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient.
William Shemin was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War I. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery in action at Vesle River, near Bazoches, France. On June 2, 2015, Elsie Shemin-Roth and her sister Ina Bass accepted the nation's highest military award for valor on behalf of their father from President Barack Obama at the White House. Shemin was assigned to Company G, 47th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, American Expeditionary Forces.
The 308th Infantry Regiment was a unit in the United States Army during World War I as a part of the 77th Infantry Division in Europe. Regimental designation is used only in historical tradition.
