- Established
- 1944
- Awarded by
- All services
- Criteria
- Heroic or meritorious achievement or service in connection with military operations against an armed enemy.
- Precedence
- #13 of 18 in this guide · below Soldier’s Medal and service equivalents · above Purple Heart
Established by executive order in February 1944 and made retroactive to December 7, 1941. When awarded for heroism it carries a “V” device. Soldiers who earned the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge in World War II later became eligible for it.
From Wikipedia
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. When the medal is awarded by the Army, Air Force, or Space Force for acts of valor in combat, the "V" device is authorized for wear on the medal's ribbon. Similarly, when the medal is awarded by the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard for acts of valor or meritorious service in combat, the Combat "V" is authorized for wear on the medal's ribbon.
Excerpt from “Bronze Star Medal” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable recipients
- Ernest Hemingway1899–1961 · Spanish Civil War
- Henry Kissinger1923–2023 · Vietnam War
- John McCain1936–2018 · Vietnam War
- Douglas MacArthur Medal of Honor too1880–1964 · World War I
- John Kerry1943 · Vietnam War
- Henry Fonda1905–1982 · World War II
- Colin Powell1937–2021 · Vietnam War
- Oliver Stone1946 · Vietnam War
- George S. Patton1885–1945 · World War I
- Spiro Agnew1918–1996 · World War II
- Mickey Rooney1920–2014 · World War II
- Tony Bennett1926–2023 · World War II
- Glenn Miller1904–1944
- Rainier III, Prince of Monaco1923–2005 · World War II
- Bob Dole1923–2021 · World War II
Images: medal (Public domain, United States Army Institute of Heraldry , as manufactured by classic-medallics.com , a TIOH Certified Manufacturer); ribbon (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
