The Soldier's Medal is an individual decoration of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the

Congress of the United States The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

on July 2, 1926., Appendix 5, p. 126. The Army' Soldier's Medal is equivalent to the

Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The medal was established by an act of Con ...

, the Air Force and Space Force's 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. 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."

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 The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

directed that the Quartermaster General prepare and submit appropriate designs of the Soldier's Medal per letter signed by the

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

dated 11 August 1926. The medal was designed by sculptor Gaetano Cecere. The first Soldier's Medals were awarded on October 17, 1927, to John F. Burns and James P. Martin for their heroism during a fire and to James K. Wilson and Cleophas C. Burnett for saving people from drowning. 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.

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." 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 An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

worn on the suspension and

service ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each co ...

of the medal.

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).

Notable recipients

* Marty Allen, USAAF, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for bravery during a plane fire. *

Edith Ellen Greenwood This article contains a list of Wikipedia articles about recipients of the United States Army's Soldier's Medal, awarded to "any person of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly foreign nation who, while serving in any capacity wi ...

of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps (ANC) during World War II for saving fifteen patients. *

John D. Hoffman John Drake Hoffman (November 26, 1922 – February 21, 2004) was an American chemist and author who was awarded the Soldier's Medal, the United States Army's highest award for an act of valor in a non-combat situation, and the only one awarded to ...

for bravery in saving others after an explosion at a

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

plant. * Otto Kerner Jr., US Army, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a drowning soldier off the coast of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. * 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. * Henry Mucci, US Army, was awarded the Soldier's Medal for rescuing a soldier in danger of drowning in 1943. *

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

, who, during his second tour of duty in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, was injured in a helicopter crash and, despite his wounds, rescued two comrades from the burning wreckage. *

Alek Skarlatos Aleksander Reed Skarlatos (; born October 10, 1992) is an American former Army National Guard soldier who, along with Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and three others, stopped a gunman on a Paris-bound train travelling from Amsterdam via Brussels ...

was awarded the Soldier's Medal after thwarting a terrorist attack on a train in France. *

Hugh Thompson Jr. Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. (April 15, 1943 – January 6, 2006) was a United States Army Major, and a former warrant officer in the 123rd Aviation Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Division. He is credited with ending the Mỹ Lai Massacre of the S ...

Lawrence Colburn Lawrence Manley Colburn (July 6, 1949 – December 13, 2016) was a United States Army veteran who, while serving as a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War, intervened in the March 16, 1968 Mỹ Lai massacre. Born in Coulee Dam, Washington, Colbu ...

, and Glenn Andreotta were awarded the Soldier's Medal for their intervention in the

My Lai Massacre My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Marke ...

(1968), which included threatening to fire on their own comrades if they did not stop the killings. *

Brad Wenstrup Brad Robert Wenstrup (born June 17, 1958) is an American politician, U.S. Army Reserve officer, and doctor of podiatric medicine, who has been the U.S. representative for since 2013. A Republican, he upset incumbent U.S. Representative Jean Schm ...

, an Ohio congressman, an Army Reserve colonel, and Iraq war veteran, was awarded with the Soldier’s Medal for his actions during the 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball team practice. *

Christopher Speer Christopher James Speer (September 9, 1973 – August 6, 2002) was a United States Army combat medic and an armed member of a special operations team who was killed during a skirmish in Afghanistan on July 27, 2002. Speer, who was not wearin ...

, a former member of the

United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

and

Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...

. 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 Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and al ...

from a head injury sustained from a grenade in Afghanistan. * Aaron Bank, a United States Army officer who founded the

, commonly known as the "Green Berets". *

Wayne A. Downing Wayne Allan Downing (May 10, 1940 – July 18, 2007) was a four-star United States Army general born in Peoria, Illinois. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and held a Master of Busine ...

, was a US Army retired 4 star General who has held command of the 75th Ranger Regiment,

United States Army Special Operations Command The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( )) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it is the largest ...

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equ ...

and

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States A ...

References

External links