- Established
- 1926 (Soldier’s Medal), 1942 (Navy and Marine Corps Medal), 1960 (Airman’s Medal), 1949 (Coast Guard Medal)
- Awarded by
- Army (Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Airman’s Medal, Coast Guard Medal are equivalents)
- Criteria
- Heroism involving personal danger and the voluntary risk of life under conditions other than conflict with an enemy.
- Precedence
- #12 of 18 in this guide · below Distinguished Flying Cross · above Bronze Star Medal
These medals honor the kind of peacetime lifesaving that once earned the Medal of Honor itself — rescues from fire, water and wreckage. John F. Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for saving his crew after PT-109 was sunk in 1943.
From Wikipedia
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. 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.
Excerpt from “Soldier's Medal” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable recipients
- Colin Powell1937–2021 · Vietnam War
- Hugh Thompson Jr.1943–2006 · Vietnam War
- Jack Reacher1960
- Max Cleland1942–2021 · Vietnam War
- Bernt Balchen1899–1973 · World War II
- Lawrence Colburn1949–2016 · Vietnam War
- Milburn G. Apt1924–1956
- Glenn Andreotta1947–1968 · Vietnam War
- Clarence L. Tinker1887–1942 · World War II
- John Carter1922–2018
- Walter K. Wilson Jr.1906–1985 · World War II
- Jay Collins1976
- Theodore L. Futch1895–1992 · World War I
- Frank D. Peregory Medal of Honor too1916–1944 · World War II
- John J. Duffy Medal of Honor too1938 · Vietnam War
Images: medal (Public domain, US Army Institute of Heraldry); ribbon (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
