Jump to content

Silver Star

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about United States military decoration. For other uses, seeSilver Star (disambiguation).

Silver Star Medal
TypePersonal Valor Decoration
Awarded forGallantry in action against an enemy of the United States
Presented by
EligibilityUnited States Armed Forcespersonnel, foreign allied personnel and civilians serving alongside U.S. military personnel in combat
StatusCurrently awarded
Established
  • 9 July 1932(1932-07-09):Army Citation Star (SS) (Retroactive to 15 April 1861)
  • 19 July 1942(1942-07-19):Silver Star Medal
  • 7 August 1942: Navy, SSM (Retroactive to 6 December 1942)
  • 16 December 1942: Army, SS (Retroactive to 6 December 1941)
First awardedAugust 1932 (WWI Army Silver Star conversion)
Service ribbon
Precedence
Next (higher)Army:Distinguished Service Medal (Army)
Naval Service:Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Air and Space Forces:Distinguished Service Medal (Air and Space Forces)
Coast Guard:Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Next (lower)Defense Superior Service Medal
ArmyCaptainGregory Ambrosia receiving the Silver Star fromNavyAdmiralMichael Mullen,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

TheSilver Star Medal(SSM) is theUnited States Armed Forces' third-highestmilitary decorationforvalorin combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces forgallantryin action against an enemy of the United States.

History

[edit]

The Silver Star Medal (SSM)[5]is the successor award to the "Citation Star"(3⁄16silver star) which was established by anAct of Congresson July 9, 1918, duringWorld War I.On July 19, 1932, theSecretary of Warapproved the conversion of the "Citation Star" to the SSM with the original "Citation Star" incorporated into the center of the medal.

Authorization for the Silver Star Medal was placed into law by an Act of Congress for theU.S. Navyon August 7, 1942, and an Act of Congress for theU.S. Armyon December 15, 1942. The current statutory authorization for the medal isTitle 10 of the United States Code,10 U.S.C.§ 7276for the U.S. Army,10 U.S.C.§ 8294for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, and10 U.S.C.§ 9276for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.

The U.S. Army awards the medal as the "Silver Star". The U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard award the medal as the "Silver Star Medal".[6]Since 21 December 2016, theDepartment of Defense(DoD) refers to the decoration as the "Silver Star Medal".[5]

Award criteria

[edit]

The Silver Star Medal is awarded for gallantry, so long as the action does not justify the award of one of the next higher valor awards: theDistinguished Service Cross,theNavy Cross,theAir Force Cross,or theCoast Guard Cross.[7]The gallantry displayed must have taken place while in action against an enemy of the United States, while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.[5]

The Silver Star Medal is awarded for singular acts of valor or heroism over a brief period, such as one or two days of a battle.[5]

Air Force pilots and combat systems officers and Navy/Marine Corps naval aviators and flight officers flying fighter aircraft, are often considered eligible to receive the Silver Star upon becoming anace(i.e., having five or more confirmed aerial kills), which entails the pilot and, in multi-seat fighters, the weapons system officer or radar intercept officer, intentionally and successfully risking his life multiple times under combat conditions and emerging victorious.[8]However, during theVietnam War,the last conflict to produce U.S. fighter aces: an Air Force pilot and two navigators/weapon systems officers (who were later retrained as Air Force pilots), a naval aviator and a naval flight officer/radar intercept officer who had achieved this distinction, were eventually awarded the Air Force Cross and Navy Cross, respectively, in addition to SSMs previously awarded for earlier aerial kills.[citation needed]

Unit award equivalent

Appearance

[edit]

The Silver Star Medal is a goldfive-pointed star,1+1⁄2inches (38 mm) in circumscribing diameter with alaurel wreathencircling rays from the center and a3⁄16inch (4.8 mm) diameter silver star superimposed in the center. The pendant is suspended from a rectangular shaped metal loop with rounded corners. The reverse has the inscriptionFOR GALLANTRY IN ACTION.The ribbon is1+3⁄8inches (35 mm) wide and consists of the following stripes:7⁄32inch (5.6 mm) Old Glory red (center stripe); proceeding outward in pairs7⁄32inch (5.6 mm) white;7⁄32inch (5.6 mm) ultramarine blue;3⁄64inch (1.2 mm) white; and3⁄32inch (2.4 mm) ultramarine blue.[9]

Ribbon devices

Second and subsequent awards of the Silver Star Medal are denoted by bronze or silveroak leaf clustersin theArmyandAir Forceand by gold or silver5⁄16inch starsin theNavy,Marine Corps,andCoast Guard.[5][10][11]

Recipients

[edit]
ArmySpecialistMonica Lin Brownreceives the Silver Star from then-Vice PresidentDick Cheney,2008

The Department of Defense does not keep extensive records for the Silver Star Medal. Independent groups estimate that between 100,000 and 150,000 SSMs have been awarded since the decoration was established.[12]ColonelDavid Hackworthwho was awarded ten SSMs while serving in the Army during the Korean War and Vietnam War, is likely to be the person awarded the most SSMs.[13]General of the ArmyDouglas MacArthurwas awarded seven SSMs for his service in France inWorld War Ifrom February to November 1918 as a colonel and then brigadier general. Donald H. Russell, a civilianVought F4U Corsairtechnical support engineer attached to aMarine Corpsfighter wing, received the SSM for his actions aboardUSSFranklinafter the carrier was attacked by a Japanesedive bomberin March 1945.[14]In the fall of 1944, President Roosevelt's close adviserHarry Hopkins,the U.S. Ambassador in MoscowW. Averell Harrimanand a military attaché presented the SSM toSoviet Red Armyartillery officer Alexei Voloshin, who was the first to cross the Dnieper with his battery[15][page needed]and was one of four junior Red Army officers who received the award.[16]

Female recipients

[edit]

Three Army nurses that served in World War I were cited in 1919 and 1920 with Citation Stars for gallantry in attending to the wounded while under artillery fire in July 1918. In 2007, it was discovered that they had never been awarded their Citation Stars. The three nurses (Army nurses served without rank until 1920) were awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously:[17][18]

  • Jane Rignel– Mobile Hospital No. 2,42nd Division,for gallantry in "giving aid to the wounded under heavy fire" in France on July 15, 1918
  • Linnie Leckrone – Shock Team No. 134, Field Hospital No. 127,32nd Division,for gallantry while "attending to the wounded during an artillery bombardment" in France on July 29, 1918
  • Irene Robar – Shock Team No. 134, Field Hospital No. 127, 32nd Division, for gallantry while "attending to the wounded during an artillery bombardment" in France on July 29, 1918

An unknown number of servicewomen received the award in World War II. Four Army nurses serving in Italy during the war—First LieutenantMary Roberts,Second LieutenantElaine Roe,Second Lieutenant Rita Virginia Rourke, and Second LieutenantEllen Ainsworth(posthumous)—became the first women recipients of the Silver Star, all cited for their bravery in evacuating the 33rd Field Hospital atAnzioon February 10, 1944.[19]Later that same year, CorporalMaggie Leones,a Filipino who later immigrated to the United States, received the medal forclandestineactivities onLuzon;[20][21][22][23]as of 2016,she is the only female Asian to receive a Silver Star.[24]

The next known servicewomen to receive the Silver Star were Army National GuardSergeantLeigh Ann Hesterin 2005, for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy inIraq[19]and ArmySpecialistMonica Lin Brownin March 2008, for extraordinary heroism as acombat medicin theWar in Afghanistan.[19]

Notable recipients

[edit]
Main category:Recipients of the Silver Star

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Army Regulation 600–8–22: Military Awards"(PDF).Department of the Army. 11 January 2018. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 11 January 2018.Retrieved28 September2018.
  2. ^"SecNav Instruction 1650.1H: Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual"(PDF).Department of the Navy. 18 September 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 September 2010.Retrieved28 September2018.
  3. ^"Air Force Guidance Memorandum for Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2803, The Air Force Military Awards and Decorations Program"(PDF).Department of the Air Force. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 October 2018.Retrieved4 August2018.
  4. ^"Coast Guard Military Medals and Awards Manual"(PDF).Department of Homeland Security.Retrieved4 August2018.
  5. ^abcdeDepartment of Defense Manual 1348.33 Volume 3(PDF).Department of Defense Technical Information Center. 21 December 2016. pp. 14–16. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 February 2017.Retrieved13 May2016.
  6. ^"Fact Sheet: Silver Star Medal".U.S. Air Force.3 August 2010.
  7. ^"Section 578.12 – Silver Star".Code of Federal Regulations.Government Printing Office.Retrieved9 October2012.
  8. ^Bergquist, Carl (12 April 2008)."Korean War pilot receives Silver Star 56 years later".Maxwell Air Force Base.Archived fromthe originalon 6 June 2011.Retrieved10 March2009.
  9. ^"Silver Star".The Institute of Heraldry.Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2012.Retrieved1 July2012.
  10. ^"COMDTINSTM1650D Coast Guards Medals and Awards"(PDF).U.S. Coast Guard.May 2008. pp. 1-13 a, 2-3 5., 1-16 "a". Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 August 2009.
  11. ^"SecNav Instruction 1650.1H: Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual".Department of the Navy.22 August 2006. pp. 1–8, 123. 1., 1–22.
  12. ^"Silver Star Medal".Home of Heroes.Retrieved16 December2008.
  13. ^Hackworth, Col. David H. (December 2002)."Look Truth Right in the Eye".Military(Interview). Interviewed by Fred L. Schultz and Gordon Keiser.Retrieved9 October2012.
  14. ^"First Civilian Wins Navy Silver Star"(PDF).The New York Times.7 November 1945. p. 12.Retrieved8 May2019.
  15. ^Panzer Killers: Anti-Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front.
  16. ^"Rosguard celebrates the parade with 100-year-old front-line soldier, holder of the highest awards of the USSR and the USA".Molodeznoe.tv.Archived fromthe originalon 1 March 2020.Retrieved1 March2020.
  17. ^Prior, Richard M.; Marble, William Sanders (1 May 2008)."The Overlooked Heroines: Three Silver Star Nurses of World War I".Military Medicine.173(5): 493–498.doi:10.7205/milmed.173.5.493.PMID18543572.
  18. ^"Daughter Accepts Silver Star Her World War I Nurse Mother Earned".United States Army.2 August 2007.Retrieved9 October2012.
  19. ^abcAbrashi, Fisnik (9 March 2008)."Medic Stationed in Afghanistan Becomes 2nd Woman to Be Awarded Silver Star".Fox News.Associated Press.
  20. ^Drummond, Tammerlin (17 June 2016)."Filipina Silver Star winner, Richmond resident Magdalena Leones dies at 95".East Bay Times.Retrieved18 June2016.
  21. ^"Magdalena Leones".Military Times Hall of Valor.Retrieved18 June2016.
  22. ^Nuval, Leonardo Q. (1996).Remember Them Kindly: Some Filipinos During World War II.Claretian Publications. p. 31.ISBN978-971-501-678-0.
  23. ^Guillermo, Emil (5 July 2016)."Magdalena Leones, Filipina WWII Silver Star Recipient Who Aided MacArthur, Dies in California".NBC News.Retrieved15 March2018.
  24. ^"Only Filipina WWII US Silver Star recipient dies at 95".Philippine Daily Inquirer.Makati City. 21 June 2016.Retrieved15 March2018.Filipino WWII veterans and her family members mourn the passing of Cpl. Magdalena Estoista Leones, 95, who entered the history books as the only Asian female to have been awarded the Silver Star in World War II for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States.
  25. ^"Battle joined: Army panel backs WWII vet's posthumous bid for Medal of Honor".Fox News.4 November 2015.
  26. ^O'Donnell, Maureen."William J. Cullerton".Military TimesHall of Valor.Retrieved25 January2013.
  27. ^"Barry McCaffrey".Military Times Hall Of Valor.Retrieved4 August2018.
  28. ^"Barry McCaffrey".Military Times Hall Of Valor.Retrieved4 August2018.
  29. ^"List of Silver Star Recipients".American War Library.
  30. ^Williams, Rudi (25 March 2004)."Korean War Double Hero Reflects on Life".United States Department of Defense.Retrieved6 February2021.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toSilver Star.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Silver_Star&oldid=1232506137"