Publish Date 
Written by DAVIDSON, JOSEPH M.
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Division, A.E.F.
Date of Action: November 4, 1918
General Orders No. No. 3, W.D., 1922
Home Town: St. Joseph, Louisiana
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Joseph M. Davidson, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near La Polka Farm, France, November 4, 1918.
First Lieutenant Davidson's line was stopped 300 yards from the La Polka Farm by a terrific concentration of machine-gun fire directed from the high ground and woods on the farm. By his coolness and courage he quickly collected together a platoon, and leading them across open ground swept by machine-gun fire, he attacked the machine guns. Just before reaching the enemy, Lieutenant Davidson was killed, but his men, inspired by his coolness and devotion, fought on and captured the machine-gun nests.
DAVIDSON, JOSEPH M
- 1ST LT CO E 318 INF 80 DIV
- DATE OF DEATH: 11/05/1918
- BURIED AT: SECTION S EH SITE 4366
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard