Publish Date 
Written by BEACH, WILLIAM B.
Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army
Home: Kingman, Arizona
Company C, 4th Engineers, 4th Division, A.E.F.
Date of Action: August 6 & 8, 1918
General Orders No. 46, W.D., 1919
Citation
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to William B. Beach, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, for repeated acts of extraordinary heroism in action near St. Thibaut, France, August 6 and 8, 1918.
Being a member of a covering detachment sent out to protect a detail which was constructing a bridge over the Vesle River, Sergeant Beach voluntarily left his squad and fought his way alone down the river, in order to locate an enemy machine-gun nest. The flashes from his automatic rifle drew fire from the enemy, and he was forced to jump into the river for protection. Swimming back to his squad, he organized a detail and led it in a successful attack on the hostile position.
Two nights later, after this bridge had been destroyed, this soldier, with three others, volunteered to rebuild the bridge. Under continuous fire from the enemy, he swam the river several times, and set the posts for the bridge, thereby making possible the infantry attack on the following morning.
BEACH, WILLIAM BURDETTE
- United States Army
- DATE OF BIRTH: 07/07/1893
- DATE OF DEATH: 08/30/1954
- BURIED AT: SECTION 6 SITE 9508-A
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