The Star of Military Valour (french: Étoile de la vaillance militaire) is a decoration that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest award for military valour, and one of three honours for military valour awarded by the

Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

, generally through his or her

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- in-Council. Created in 1993, the medal is presented to both living and deceased members of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

deemed to have demonstrated "distinguished and valiant service in the presence of the enemy," and grants recipients the ability to use the post-nominal letters ''SMV''.

History

On 2 February 1993, three decorations, including the Star of Military Valour, were created by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

as a family of Canadian military valour decorations. The first awarding of the star was by Governor General

Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...

, on 27 October 2006; only with Canada's participation in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan did there emerge, for the first time since 1993, circumstances wherein one could carry out actions deserving of the Star of Military Valour.

Design

The Star of Military Valour is in the form of a silver-gilt compass star Celeste with a maple leaf in each angle. On the obverse is a roundel at the centre of the star, bearing a gold maple leaf on a red enamel background and surrounded by a silver

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...

. The reverse bears on the upper arm the royal cypher of the reigning monarch beneath

St. Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at Coronation of the British monarch, the ...

—symbolizing the

's roles as both fount of honour and

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—and the inscription . Below this is engraved the name and rank of the recipient. This medallion is worn on the left chest, on a crimson ribbon with two vertical white stripes: for men, hung from a bar, and for women, on a ribbon bow, both pinned to the left chest. Should an individual already possessing a Star of Military Valour be awarded the medal again for subsequent valorous acts, he or she is granted a simple gold

medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on th ...

, bearing a maple leaf at its centre, for wear on the ribbon from which the original medal is suspended.

Eligibility and receipt

The star is awarded only to members of the

, or members of allied armed forces serving alongside the Canadian Forces, who have shown conspicuous acts of valour in the face of enemy hostility. Should a person meet these criteria, nominations are made through his or her

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

to the Military Valour Decorations Advisory Committee—a part of the Chancellery of Honours at

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—which then makes its recommendations to the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

, via the Chief of the Defence Staff. Once they have been decorated with the Star of Military Valour, recipients are granted the right to use the post-nominal letters ''SMV''. The Star of Military Valour can be awarded posthumously, as well as multiple times.

Recipients

In chronological order, the recipients have been: * Sergeant Patrick Tower , awarded 25 October 2006 * Major William Hilton Fletcher , awarded 18 December 2006 * Private Jess Randall Larochelle , awarded 14 March 2007 * Corporal Sean Teal , awarded 14 March 2007 * Major David Quick , awarded 8 January 2008 * Sergeant William Kenneth MacDonald , awarded 4 April 2008 * Master-Corporal J. Donovan Ball , awarded 26 June 2008 * Captain Jonathan Snyder , awarded posthumously 26 June 2008 * Warrant Officer David Shultz , awarded 13 November 2009 * Master Corporal Jeremy Pinchin , awarded 4 June 2010 * 3 unnamed members of the

Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM; french: links=no, Commandement des Forces d'opérations spéciales du Canada; COMFOSCAN) is a command of the Canadian Armed Forces. It is responsible for all special forces operations that ar ...

, awarded 11 March 2011 * Captain Gabriel Chasse-Jean , awarded 11 June 2011 * Master Warrant Officer Richard Stacey , awarded 11 June 2011 * Corporal Jean-François Belzil , awarded 18 September 2012 * Private Taumy St-Hilaire , awarded 15 November 2012 * Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas Arthur Ratzlaff In 2014, La Promenade building in the parliamentary precinct in Ottawa was renamed the Valour Building to honour the recipients of the Star of Military Valour.

References

External links