- Established
- 1918 (Army), 1919 (Navy), 1960 (Air Force), 1961 (Coast Guard)
- Awarded by
- Each service has its own version
- Criteria
- Exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility.
- Precedence
- #7 of 18 in this guide · below Defense Distinguished Service Medal · above Silver Star
Each branch awards its own Distinguished Service Medal, most often to general and flag officers at the end of major commands. It recognizes leadership and service rather than combat heroism.
From Wikipedia
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. The exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration.
Excerpt from “Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable recipients
- Winston Churchill1874–1965 · World War I
- Dwight D. Eisenhower1890–1969 · World War I
- Chiang Kai-shek1887–1975 · Chinese Civil War
- Douglas MacArthur Medal of Honor too1880–1964 · World War I
- George Marshall1880–1959 · World War I
- Philippe Pétain1856–1951 · World War I
- James Stewart1908–1997 · World War II
- George S. Patton1885–1945 · World War I
- Colin Powell1937–2021 · Vietnam War
- Bernard Montgomery1887–1976 · World War I
- Frank Capra1897–1991 · World War I
- Ferdinand Foch1851–1929 · World War I
- Chester W. Nimitz1885–1966 · World War I
- Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma1900–1979 · World War I
- Joseph Joffre1852–1931 · World War I
Images: medal (Public domain, US Army Institute of Heraldry); ribbon (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
