Silver Star

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Silver Star
Silver Star medal.jpg
Awarded by United States Military
Type Medal
Awarded for "Gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States"
Status Currently awarded
Statistics
First awarded 1932
Last awarded Currently awarded
Precedence
Next (higher) Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross
Distinguished Service Medals: Defense, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard
Next (lower) Defense Superior Service Medal
Silver Star ribbon-3d.svg
Silver Star ribbon

The Silver Star is the third highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. The Silver Star medal had its beginning during World War I and is awarded for valor against an opposing armed force.

It ranks fifth in the precedence of military awards behind the Medal of Honor, the Crosses (DSC/NC/AFC), the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (awarded by DOD), and the Distinguished Service Medals of the various branches of service. It is the highest award for combat valor that is not unique to any specific branch.

General information

The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States not justifying a higher award. It may be awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S Armed Forces, distinguishes himself or herself by extraordinary heroism involving one of the following actions:

  • In action against an enemy of the United States
  • While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force
  • While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party

The Silver Star differs from the Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross or Air Force Cross, in that it requires a lesser degree of gallantry and need not be earned while in a position of great responsibility. Soldiers who received a citation for gallantry in action during World War I were eligible to apply to have the citation converted to the Silver Star Medal.

The individual services can award the Silver Star to not only their own members, but to members of other branches of service, foreign allies, and even to civilians for "gallantry in action" in support of combat missions of the United States military.[1]

The Bronze Star is another United States decoration which may be awarded for heroism, but unlike the Silver Star may also be awarded for meritorious service while engaged in combat operations. When awarded for valor, the Bronze Star Medal comes with the Valor device. The Bronze Star Medal is often issued to individuals who performed notable accomplishments, but not to the level required of the Silver Star Medal.

The Valorous Unit Award is considered the unit level equivalent of a Silver Star Medal.

History

Army Captain Gregory Ambrosia receiving the Silver Star from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen at Korengal Outpost, Afghanistan, July 11, 2008.

The Silver Star is the successor decoration to the Citation Star which was established by an act of the United States Congress on July 9, 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson.

On February 22, 1932, the date that would have been George Washington's 200th birthday, Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur revived General Washington's "Badge for Military Merit (1782)" as the Purple Heart. That same year he also successfully advocated for conversion of the "Citation Star". When his recommendation was approved by the Secretary of War, the 3/16' silver star was converted from a ribbon device" to a full-fledged medal. On July 19, 1932, the Secretary of War approved the Silver Star Medal to replace the Citation Star.

The original Citation Star is incorporated into the center of the Silver Star Medal, and the ribbon for the Silver Star Medal is based closely on the Certificate of Merit Medal. It was retroactive to include those cited for gallantry in action in previous campaigns back to the Spanish-American War.

Authorization for the Silver Star was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the U.S. Navy on August 7, 1942 and an Act of Congress for the U.S. Army on December 15, 1942. The primary reason for congressional authorization was the desire to award the medal to civilians as well as the Army. The current statutory authorization for the Silver Star Medal is Title 10 of the United States Code (10 U.S.C. § 3746).

The number of Silver Stars awarded from World War I to the present is estimated to be somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000. Given that more than 30 million American men and women have served in uniform during that time period, the Silver Star is a rare award, bestowed on fewer than 1 in every 250 veterans of military service.[1]

Appearance

The Silver Star Medal was designed by Rudolf Freund of Bailey, Banks and Biddle, and consisted of a gilt-bronze five-pointed (point-up in contrast to the point-down design of the Medal of Honor) star bearing a laurel wreath at its center. The ribbon design incorporated the colors of the flag, and closely resembled the medals earliest predecessor, the Certificate of Merit Medal. The reverse of the medal is blank, save for the raised text "For Gallantry in Action", beneath which is usually engraved the name of the recipient.

The gold hue of the gilt-bronze star seems at odds with the award's name, Silver Star, but the title derives from the medal's World War I lineage and the 3/6" silver star, once displayed on a victory ribbon, and now prominently displayed in the center of the medal.[1]

Additional decorations of the Silver Star are denoted in the U.S. Army and Air Force by oak leaf clusters, while the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps issue award stars.

Women of valor

File:Army mil-2008-03-24-090714.jpg
Specialist Monica Lin Brown receives the Silver Star Medal from Vice President Dick Cheney.

Mary Roberts Wilson was the first woman to be awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in combat for her action during the battle of Anzio during World War II. With her Army evacuation hospital under German shellfire, Wilson continued supervising her nursing staff of 50, allowing the hospital to continue functioning. Tom Brokaw devoted an entire chapter to Wilson's exploits in his best-selling paean to World War II-era Americans, The Greatest Generation.

When the Germans bombed the field hospital at Anzio beach, Italy during WWII medical personnel evacuated forty-two patients by flashlight without incident, and for their bravery four nurses:1st Lt. Mary Roberts, 2d Lt. Elaine Roe, 2d Lt. Rita Virginia Rourke, and 2d Lt. Ellen Ainsworth, received the first Silver Star medals awarded to women in the U.S. Army. Ainsworth, who was killed during the attack, was awarded the medal posthumously.

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, vehicle commander, 617th Military Police Company, Richmond, Ky., stands at attention before receiving the Silver Star at an awards ceremony at Camp Liberty, Iraq, June 16 2005. Sgt. Hester is the first woman soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star.

Spec. Monica Brown from the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, stands over Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khowst province, Afghanistan. Brown is the second woman since World War II to earn a Silver Star for gallantry in combat.[2]



In 1944, four nurses serving in World War II became the first female recipients of the Silver Star. 1st Lt. Mary Roberts, 2nd Lt. Elaine Roe, 2nd Lt. Rita Virginia Rourke, and 2nd Lt. Ellen Ainsworth (posthumous) were cited for their bravery in successfully evacuating the 33rd Field Hospital at Anzio, Italy on February 10. They remained the sole female recipients until Leigh Ann Hester was awarded the Silver Star in 2005 for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq. Three nurses serving in World War I were posthumously awarded the Silver Star in 2007. Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown, the first woman serving in Afghanistan to be chosen for this honor, was awarded the Silver Star in March 2008 [3].

Notable recipients

Colonel David Haskell Hackworth, U.S. Army (November 11, 1930 to May 4, 2005), received three Silver Stars for gallantry in action during the Korean War, and then earned seven additional Silver Stars for gallantry in action during the Vietnam War, thus making him the holder of the most Silver Stars by any service member.

General Douglas MacArthur who, in 1932 successfully advocated for elevation of the Citation Star to become a Medal for Gallantry, himself earned seven Citation Stars in World War I.

Other notable recipients include:

  • Joseph H. Albers
  • John R. Alison
  • William Brantley Aycock
  • Antonio Rodriguez Balinas
  • Cesar Basa
  • Harry F. Bauer
  • Charles Alvin Beckwith
  • Rafael Celestino Benitez
  • Albert Blithe
  • Richard Bong
  • Bruce Godfrey Brackett
  • Maurice L. Britt
  • Arleigh Burke
  • Agustin Ramos Calero
  • Johnny Checketts
  • David Christian
  • Nestor Chylak
  • Wesley Clark
  • Max Cleland
  • Lynn Compton
  • Louis Cukela
  • Roy M. Davenport
  • Juan Cesar Cordero Davila
  • Benjamin O. Davis Jr.
  • Ray Davis
  • Hugh A. Drum
  • Charles Durning
  • Graves B. Erskine
  • Joseph A. Farinholt
  • Wayne Fisk
  • Ronald Fogleman
  • Guy Gabaldon
  • Hobart R. Gay
  • John J. Gilligan
  • David L. Grange
  • John Campbell Greenway
  • William Guarnere
  • Ed Guthman
  • David H. Hackworth
  • Alexander Haig
  • Edward Hardin
  • Tom Harmon
  • Raymond Harvey
  • Carlos N. Hathcock II
  • Sterling Hayden
  • Diego E. Hernandez
  • Clifford B. Hicks
  • Daniel J. Hill
  • David Lee "Tex" Hill
  • Tony Hillerman
  • Lucius Roy Holbrook
  • Gordon Pai'ea Chung-Hoon
  • Joe R. Hooper
  • Clifton James
  • Lyndon B. Johnson
  • James L. Jones
  • John Forbes Kerry
  • Charles C. Krulak
  • Ben Lear
  • John C. H. Lee
  • Homer Litzenberg
  • Douglas MacArthur
  • Louis de Maigret
  • Peyton C. March
  • Richard Marcinko
  • George Marshall
  • Richard Marshall
  • John McCain
  • Sid McMath
  • Merrill A. McPeak
  • Daniel J. Miller
  • Michael A. Monsoor
  • Cliff Montgomery
  • Audie Murphy
  • Bismarck Myrick
  • Oliver North
  • Mike O'Callaghan
  • Eric T. Olson
  • George S. Patton
  • George Patton IV
  • Basil L. Plumley
  • Harvey Possinger
  • Charles E. Potter
  • Tommy Prince
  • Chesty Puller
  • Edward F. Rector
  • Stephen C. Reich
  • Karl W. Richter
  • Pedro Rodriguez
  • Robert Rosenthal
  • Barney Ross
  • Dick Rutan
  • Rodger W. Simpson
  • H. Norman Schwarzkopf
  • Frederick W. Smith
  • Oliver Prince Smith
  • John Stebbins
  • James Stockdale
  • George L. Street III
  • Samuel D. Sturgis Jr.
  • Richard K. Sutherland
  • Pat Tillman
  • Michel Thomas
  • William F. Train II
  • Paul K. Van Riper
  • Humbert Roque Versace
  • Donald Walters
  • John T. Walton
  • Billy Waugh
  • Jim Webb
  • Jerauld Wright
  • Tahsin Yazıcı
  • Chuck Yeager
  • Elton Younger
  • Douglas A. Zembiec

Legal

In the case of the Silver Star, any false written or verbal claim to a decoration or medal or any wear, purchase, attempt to purchase, solicitation for purchase, mailing, shipping, import, export, manufacture, sale, attempt to sell, advertising for sale, trade, or barter of a decoration or medal authorized for wear by authorized military members or veterans is a federal offense punishable by a fine and/or up to one year in jail.[4][5]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Awards of the Silver Star Homeofheroes.com. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  2. Women Medal Recipients - Military and Civilian Userpages.aug..com. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  3. Abrashi, Fisnik, "Medic Stationed in Afghanistan Becomes 2nd Woman to Be Awarded Silver Star", Associated Press.
  4. 18 U.S.C. 704
  5. Stolen Valor Act of 2005

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Borthick, David, and Jack Britton. 1984. Medals, Military and Civilian of the United States. Tulsa, Okla: M.C.N. Press. ISBN 091295826X
  • Foster, Frank C., and Lawrence H. Borts. 2000. A Complete Guide to all United States Military Medals, 1939 to Present. Fountain Inn, S.C.: MOA Press. ISBN 1884452191
  • Robles, Philip K. 1971. United States Military Medals and Ribbons. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle. ISBN 0804800480

External links

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