"Actions above and beyond the call of duty; and exhibiting exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind; or an unusual swiftness of action, regardless of his or her personal safety, in an attempt to save or protect human life."
The original Medal of Valor was established on June 29, 2000 by President Bill Clinton with his issuance of Executive Order 13161 and was originally called the Presidential Medal of Valor for Public Safety Officers.[3]
This award was later superseded to its current form with the enactment of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107–12 (text) (PDF), 115 Stat. 20, H.R. 802, May 30, 2001). It is still awarded and presented by the President of the United States but now it is done in the name of the United States Congress as recommended by the eleven-member Medal of Valor Review Board. The Attorney General no longer makes recommendations directly to the President but can provide input into the process via the Department of Justice's National Medal of Valor Office's support of the Review Board. The medal can still be awarded posthumously.
Before the establishment of the Medal of Valor, there were no Federal awards to specifically acknowledge the bravery performed by public safety officers throughout the United States; police and firefighting departments typically award their members medals at a state or local government level. The establishment of the Medal of Valor filled a huge void in the civilian decorations system of the United States, which was all the more timely given the catastrophe in New York City the following year during the September 11 attacks. The 442 public safety officers killed at World Trade Center and The Pentagon that day were awarded the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor, a similar but separate award.
Symbolismedit
The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, which intentionally resembles the military's Medal of Honor, is a gilt, blue-enameled, five-pointed, upside-down star (i.e. one arm points downwards), with each arm formed by a letter "V" (for Valor), surrounded by a wreath of laurel. The central disc bears the obverse of the Great Seal of the United States. The reverse bears the legend "FOR EXTRAORDINARY VALOR ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY", with the name of the recipient engraved at the center. The medal is suspended on a gilt disc bearing a letter "V" surrounded by a wreath of laurels, which is in turn suspended on a neck ribbon, blue with white and red edge stripes, the national colors of the United States, and a gold center stripe, symbolizing honor.
When the ribbon alone is worn, it carries a miniature gold gilt disc bearing a letter "V" surrounded by a wreath of laurels. There is also a lapel pin, which is the miniature of the medal without suspension.
As the award is presented by the President, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001 also repealed the previously awarded President's Award For Outstanding Public Safety Service (President's Award) and revised the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to remove the President's Award but keep the Secretary's Award For Distinguished Public Safety Service, which is an honorary award presented by the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Attorney General for the recognition of outstanding and distinguished service by public safety officers.[4]
^ abc"Bureau of Justice Assistance: Medal of Valor". Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, USDOJ. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
^ abc"VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN AND ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER HONOR 18 PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS WITH MEDAL OF VALOR" (PDF). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice. February 20, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
^Executive Order 13161 of June 29, 2000, Establishment of the Presidential Medal of Valor for Public Safety Officers, Federal Register, Vol. 65, No. 129, Wednesday, July 5, 2000, p. 41543
^The government defines "public safety officer" as a person (living or deceased) who serve(d) in a public agency, with or without compensation, as a firefighter, law enforcement officer (including a corrections or court officer, or a civil defense officer), or emergency services officer, as determined by the Attorney General.
External linksedit
Department of Justice page on Medal of Valor
December 18, 2023
public, safety, officer, medal, valor, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, september, 2019, highest, decoration, bravery, exhibited, public, safety, officers, united, state. This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information September 2019 The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor is the highest decoration for bravery exhibited by public safety officers in the United States comparable to the military s Medal of Honor Public Safety Officer Medal of ValorTypeMedalAwarded for Actions above and beyond the call of duty and exhibiting exceptional courage extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind or an unusual swiftness of action regardless of his or her personal safety in an attempt to save or protect human life Presented bythe President of the United StatesEligibilityFirefightersLaw enforcement officersEMS personnelStatusActiveEstablishedExecutive Order 13161 June 29 2000First awarded2001Total70 1 2 Total awarded posthumously9 1 2 Total recipients108 1 2 RibbonPrecedenceNext higher Presidential Citizens MedalNext lower President s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Contents 1 History 2 Symbolism 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp President Donald Trump presents the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor in the East Room of the White House in May 2019The original Medal of Valor was established on June 29 2000 by President Bill Clinton with his issuance of Executive Order 13161 and was originally called the Presidential Medal of Valor for Public Safety Officers 3 This award was later superseded to its current form with the enactment of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001 Pub L 107 12 text PDF 115 Stat 20 H R 802 May 30 2001 It is still awarded and presented by the President of the United States but now it is done in the name of the United States Congress as recommended by the eleven member Medal of Valor Review Board The Attorney General no longer makes recommendations directly to the President but can provide input into the process via the Department of Justice s National Medal of Valor Office s support of the Review Board The medal can still be awarded posthumously Before the establishment of the Medal of Valor there were no Federal awards to specifically acknowledge the bravery performed by public safety officers throughout the United States police and firefighting departments typically award their members medals at a state or local government level The establishment of the Medal of Valor filled a huge void in the civilian decorations system of the United States which was all the more timely given the catastrophe in New York City the following year during the September 11 attacks The 442 public safety officers killed at World Trade Center and The Pentagon that day were awarded the 9 11 Heroes Medal of Valor a similar but separate award Symbolism editThe Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor which intentionally resembles the military s Medal of Honor is a gilt blue enameled five pointed upside down star i e one arm points downwards with each arm formed by a letter V for Valor surrounded by a wreath of laurel The central disc bears the obverse of the Great Seal of the United States The reverse bears the legend FOR EXTRAORDINARY VALOR ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY with the name of the recipient engraved at the center The medal is suspended on a gilt disc bearing a letter V surrounded by a wreath of laurels which is in turn suspended on a neck ribbon blue with white and red edge stripes the national colors of the United States and a gold center stripe symbolizing honor When the ribbon alone is worn it carries a miniature gold gilt disc bearing a letter V surrounded by a wreath of laurels There is also a lapel pin which is the miniature of the medal without suspension As the award is presented by the President the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001 also repealed the previously awarded President s Award For Outstanding Public Safety Service President s Award and revised the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to remove the President s Award but keep the Secretary s Award For Distinguished Public Safety Service which is an honorary award presented by the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA or the Attorney General for the recognition of outstanding and distinguished service by public safety officers 4 See also editAwards and decorations of the United States governmentReferences edit a b c Bureau of Justice Assistance Medal of Valor Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance USDOJ Retrieved 2013 02 20 a b c VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN AND ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER HONOR 18 PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS WITH MEDAL OF VALOR PDF Washington DC US Department of Justice February 20 2013 Retrieved 2013 02 20 Executive Order 13161 of June 29 2000 Establishment of the Presidential Medal of Valor for Public Safety Officers Federal Register Vol 65 No 129 Wednesday July 5 2000 p 41543 The government defines public safety officer as a person living or deceased who serve d in a public agency with or without compensation as a firefighter law enforcement officer including a corrections or court officer or a civil defense officer or emergency services officer as determined by the Attorney General External links editDepartment of Justice page on Medal of Valor Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor amp oldid 1168269915, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
