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SILVER STAR. The Silver Star is the third-highest military combat decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Armed Forces. It is awarded for gallantry in action: While...
- The Purple Heart
- The Bronze Star
- Medals For Non-Combat Heroism
- Soldier’S Medal
- Navy and Marine Corps Medal
- Airman’s Medal
- Coast Guard Medal
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Defense Superior Service Medal / Legion of Merit
- The Silver Star
The Purple Heart is a military medal that dates back to 1782, originally a heart-shaped piece of cloth. During the American Revolution, George Washington created this heart-shaped Badge of Military Merit to recognize enlisted soldiers for extraordinary gallantry and/or fidelity. However, it wasn’t until 1932 that President Herbert Hoover reinstated...
The Bronze Star is awarded by the military to service members who have displayed heroism and valor, excluding aerial flight. Authorized in 1944 as a ground equivalent of the Air Medal, the Bronze Star can be presented for valor or meritorious service. This means that service members can earn a Bronze Star for military actions that are not associate...
Non-Combat Heroism medals were established to recognize heroism and meritorious service that takes place other than on the battlefield. These awards are meant specifically for service member actions that did not happen in combat. Non-Combat Heroism medals are part of the Personal Decoration class. They can be awarded to members of the Army, Air For...
The Soldier’s Medal was established by Congress in 1926 and is awarded to Army personnel who have risked their lives in service that does not involve combat and/or conflict. In 2001, 28 service members received the Soldier’s Medal for risking their lives in action to assist fellow soldiers following the terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is awarded for voluntary, life-endangering acts in service to the nation. This medal was first bestowed during World War II. President John F. Kennedy was awarded this medal while serving as commanding officer of a motor torpedo boat PT-109 during WWII.
The Airman’s Medal is bestowed in honor of those that heroically risk their lives to save others or in service to the country that does not involve actual combat. This medal can be awarded to a member of the Air Force, any other branch of the Armed Forces, or a friendly nation, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Air Force.
The Coast Guard medal is a military decoration given to members serving in a capacity with the U.S. Coast Guard that distinguish themselves through acts of heroism not involving actual enemy conflict. The act of heroism must be voluntary and at great personal risk or danger, to stand out distinctly beyond normal expectations.
In 1926, the Air Corps Act established the Distinguished Flying Cross medal to recognize heroism and/or extraordinary achievement for actions in aerial flight. The first recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross medal was Captain Charles A. Lindbergh of the Army Air Corps Reserve. President Calvin Coolidge presented this medal for Lindbergh’s sol...
The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is awarded by the Department of Defense as a senior U.S. military decoration. It is bestowed upon Armed Forces members to recognize exceptionally superior service and honor a person’s accomplishments across a sustained period of time while attached to a Joint Task Force. The DSSM is frequently presented in ...
The Silver Star is the third-highest military combat decoration that can be awarded to a U.S. Armed Forces member for meritorious service and “gallantry in action against an opposing armed force” (DOD). Though the Silver Star is the third-highest award exclusively for military operations involving conflict, it ranks fifth in the precedence of milit...
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- Rank Of Medals
- Medal of Honor. There is no higher decoration in the United States military than the Congressional Medal of Honor. This medal has been handed out since the days of the Civil War to military members who “distinguish themselves through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life and above and beyond the call of duty,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
- Crosses. The Cross is awarded to those who display “extraordinary heroism” amid military operations that involve either a foreign force that opposes the United States of America or in the service of a friendly foreign force “against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.”
- Distinguished Service Medals. The Distinguished Service Medal is the third of the top 10 military medals. It’s bestowed upon those who “distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility, in combat or otherwise.”
- Silver Star. The Silver Star is the first of the top 10 military medals awarded to all military branches. It is awarded to anyone who “is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States,” either while in military operations which involve conflict with an opposing foreign force or while in service of friendly foreign forces “against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.”
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States.
For service members who carry out the bravest and most selfless acts in combat, the military bestows its most esteemed valor awards: the Medal of Honor, the Service Crosses and the Silver...
Additional awards of the Navy Cross are denoted by gold or silver 5⁄16 inch stars affixed to the suspension and service ribbon of the medal. A gold star would be issued for each of the second through fifth awards, to be replaced by a silver star which would indicate a sixth award.
Jul 17, 2022 · Today, the Silver Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, and Air Force Cross are known as awards that recognize heroic actions by service members in combat. But they were created on the heels of serious controversy over other awards.
