Soldier's Medal

The Soldier's Medal is an individual decoration of the United States Army. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the Congress of the United States on July 2, 1926.^[2][3] The Soldier's Medal is equivalent to the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the Air and Space Forces' Airman's Medal, and the Coast Guard Medal. Prior to the creation of the Airman's Medal in 1960, airmen were awarded the Soldier's Medal.

Soldier's Medal
Type	Personal military decoration
Awarded for	Distinguishing oneself by heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy
Presented by	United States Department of the Army^[1]
Status	Currently awarded
Established	2 July 1926
First awarded	October 17, 1927
Service ribbon
Precedence
Next (higher)	Distinguished Flying Cross
Equivalent	Naval Service: Navy and Marine Corps Medal Air and Space Forces: Airman's Medal Coast Guard: Coast Guard Medal
Next (lower)	Bronze Star Medal

The criteria for the medal are: "The Soldier's Medal is awarded to any person of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly foreign nation who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of the United States, including Reserve Component soldiers not serving in a duty status at the time of the heroic act, distinguished himself or herself by heroism not involving conflict with an enemy."^[4]

History

A need to recognize acts of heroism in 1922 resulted in the War Department's issuing orders for acts of bravery during peacetime. This led to an Act of Congress (Public Law 446-69th Congress, July 2, 1926 (44 Stat. 780)) which established the Soldier's Medal for acts of heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy. The Secretary of War directed that the Quartermaster General prepare and submit appropriate designs of the Soldier's Medal per letter signed by the Adjutant General dated 11 August 1926.^[3] The medal was designed by sculptor Gaetano Cecere.^[5]

The first Soldier's Medals were awarded on October 17, 1927, to John F. Burns and James P. Martin^[6] for their heroism during a fire and to James K. Wilson^[7] and Cleophas C. Burnett^[8] for saving people from drowning.^[9]

The period of time when the most Soldier's Medals were awarded was World War II (at least hundreds were awarded).

Prior to the establishment of the Airman's Medal, which was authorized on 10 August 1956 and created in 1960, the Soldier's Medal awarded to U.S. Air Force personnel by the Army since 26 September 1947.^[10]

Criteria

The distinguishing criterion for awarding the Soldier's Medal, per Army Regulation 600-8-22, para 3-14, is "The performance must have involved personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life under conditions not involving conflict with an armed enemy. Awards will not be made solely on the basis of having saved a life."^[4] It is the highest honor a soldier can receive for an act of valor in a non-combat situation, held to be equal to or greater than the level which would have justified an award of the Distinguished Flying Cross had the act occurred in combat. Any enlisted American servicemember who is eligible for retirement pay will receive an increase of 10 percent in retirement pay if the level of valor was equal to that which would earn the Distinguished Service Cross. Additional awards of the medal are denoted by oak leaf clusters worn on the suspension and service ribbon of the medal.^[3][4]

Appearance

The bronze medal is issued as a 1 3/8 inch wide Bronze octagon with an eagle displayed, standing on a fasces, between two groups of stars of six and seven, above the group of six a spray of leaves. On the reverse is a shield paly of 13 pieces, on the chief the letters "US," supported by sprays of laurel and oak, around the upper edge the inscription "SOLDIER'S MEDAL" and across the face the words "FOR VALOR." In the base is a panel for the name of the recipient to be engraved. The medal is suspended from the ribbon by a rectangular-shaped metal loop with corners rounded.

The ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes: 3/8 inch Ultramarine Blue 67118 on each side and the center containing 13 White and Red stripes of equal width (7 White 67101 and 6 Old Glory Red 67156).^[3]

Notable recipients

 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter presents the Soldier's Medal to Alek Skarlatos on September 17, 2015.

• Marty Allen, USAAF, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for bravery during a plane fire.
• Aaron Bank, a United States Army officer who founded the United States Army Special Forces (commonly known as the Green Berets).
• Joseph P. Cleland, for rescuing a drowning aviator off Bougainville Island in 1943.^[11][12]
• Wayne A. Downing, was a US Army retired four-star General who has held command of the 75th Ranger Regiment, United States Army Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command and United States Special Operations Command.
• Edith Ellen Greenwood of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps (ANC) during World War II for saving fifteen patients.
• John D. Hoffman for bravery in saving others after an explosion at a Manhattan Project plant.^[13]
• Otto Kerner Jr., US Army, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a drowning soldier off the coast of Sicily.
• Kilma S. Lattin, US Army, and former Executive Tribal Council Member of the Pala Band of Mission Indians was awarded the Soldier's Medal for Valor for rescuing a woman engulfed in flames. He repeatedly sustained injuries while using his body to extinguish the fire, and saved the woman’s life.^[14]
• Henry Mucci, US Army, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a soldier in danger of drowning in 1943.^[15]
• Colin Powell, who was injured in a Vietnam War helicopter crash and rescued three comrades from the burning wreckage, including his division commander Charles M. Gettys, division chief of staff Jack L. Treadwell, and Gettys's aide-de-camp, Ron Tumelson.^[16]
• Alek Skarlatos was awarded the Soldier's Medal after thwarting a terrorist attack on a train in France.^[17]
• Christopher Speer, a former member of the United States Army Special Forces and Delta Force. Awarded the Soldier's Medal for risking his life to save two Afghan children who were trapped in a minefield on July 21, 2002. Two weeks later he died at Ramstein Air Base from a head injury sustained from a grenade in Afghanistan.
• Hugh Thompson Jr., Lawrence Colburn, and Glenn Andreotta were awarded the Soldier's Medal for their intervention in the My Lai Massacre (1968), which included threatening to fire on their own comrades if they did not stop the killings.
• Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio congressman, an Army Reserve colonel, and Iraq war veteran, was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for his actions during the 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball team practice.^[18]
• Samuel Tankersley Williams, for supervising the evacuation of the transport ship Susan B. Anthony after it struck a mine off the coast of France during Operation Overlord in June 1944.^[19][20]

See also

See also: Category:Recipients of the Soldier's Medal

• Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces
• Awards and decorations of the United States Army
• List of military decorations
• List of Soldier's Medal recipients

References

1. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2018-01-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Mooney, Charles C. and Layman, Martha E. (1944). (PDF). Air Force Historical Study No. 25. AFHRA (USAF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 14 Dec 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), Appendix 5, p. 126.
3. . The Institute of Heraldry: Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the ARMY. Archived from the original on 2014-12-11. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
4. "Personnel-General Military Awards" (PDF). Department of the Army. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
5. Borch, Fred L. III (2013). "Distinguished Service Cross". Medals for Soldiers and Airmen: Awards and Decorations of the United States Army and Air Force. McFarland & Company. pp. 30–42. ISBN 9780786474127.
6. "James P. Martin". Military Times. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
7. "James K. Wilson". Military Times. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
8. "Cleophas C. Burnett". Military Times. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
9. "'For Heroism....' The Soldier's Medal". United States Army. February 2, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
10. Smithsonian, Air and Space Museum. "Airman's Medal". Retrieved May 6, 2017.
11. Newman, Aubrey S. (March 1976). "Obituary, Joseph Pringle Cleland". Assembly. West Point, New York: Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy. pp. 117–119 – via Google Books.
12. "Omahan Led Luzon Attack". Omaha World-Herald. Omaha, NE. January 10, 1945. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Kramish, Arnold (15 December 1991). "They Were Heroes Too". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
14. "Kilma Lattin - Recipient". Military Times. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
15. "Henry Andrews Mucci". Military Times. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
16. DeYoung, Karen (2007). Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell. New York, NY: Vintage Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-1-4000-7564-5 – via Google Books.
17. Cooper, Helene (September 17, 2015). "A Hero's Welcome at the White House". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
18. Shane III, Leo (April 27, 2018). "Congressman awarded Soldier's Medal for heroism in last year's baseball team shooting". Army Times. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
19. Folkard, Claire (2003). Guinness World Records. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Jim Pattison Group. p. 50. ISBN 9781892051172.
20. "Soldier's Medal Citation, Samuel T. Williams". Hall of Valor. Tysons, VA: Military Times. Retrieved May 31, 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soldier's Medal.

• Searchable database of select recipients