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The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amadeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia from 1773 to his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until he declared war on Revolu ...
on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for junior officers or common soldiers who had distinguished themselves in combat. These medals fell into disuse during the period of Napoleonic domination. They were reinstated on 1 April 1815, by
Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia Victor Emmanuel I (Vittorio Emanuele; 24 July 1759 – 10 January 1824) was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia (1802–1821). Biography Victor Emmanuel was the second son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda ...
, who, however, abolished them only a few months later, on 4 August 1815, replacing them with the Military Order of Savoy (l'Ordine militare di Savoia), now known as the Military Order of Italy. However, in 1833,
Charles Albert of Sardinia Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Statuto Albertino, Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian ...
, recognizing that the Military Order was too exclusive in that it could only be awarded to persons of high rank, re-instituted the medals for valor (gold and silver) as awards for noble acts performed by soldiers in both war and peace. According to royal decree no. 753 of 24 May 1915, the number of times one individual could receive a medal for valor (both silver and gold) was limited to three, after which a promotion was foreseen. This limit was abolished with royal decree no. 975 of 15 June 1922. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the medal was awarded to military personnel, units above the level of
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...
and civilians for exceptional valor in the face of the enemy. During World War I, the medal was given out some 38,614 times for individual acts of heroism (compared to 368 Gold Medals and 60,244 Bronze medals). Thus, the Italian Silver Medal for Military Valor is equivalent in frequency and prestige to the British
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...
, which was awarded some 40,253 times during World War I. The Silver Medal for Military Valor is still awarded by the Italian state, and it, along with the Gold and Bronze medals for Military Valor as well as the "Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare" (War Cross of Military Valor - which can only be awarded in time of war) is established by the Royal Decree of 4 November 1932, in which the purpose of these medals is defined as "To distinguish and publicly honor the authors of heroic military acts, even ones performed in time of peace, provided that the exploit is closely connected with the purposes for which the Armed Forces are constituted, whatever may be the condition or quality of the author."official website of the Italian Presidency http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/onorificenze/cennistorici/medagliacrocevm.htm


Notable recipients

* Italo Balbo * William George Barker VC * Nicola Bellomo (twice) * Alfred-Ingemar Berndt *
Aaron Bradshaw Jr. Aaron Bradshaw Jr. CBE (July 1, 1894 – November 8, 1976) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Army with the rank of major general. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, he is most noted as Anti-Aircraft Artillery ...
*
Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia (22 September 1915 – 24 August 1944) was an Italian aviator, and one of the most famous Italian pilots of World War II. Buscaglia was born in Novara, Piedmont, in 1915 and entered the Italian '' Accademia Aeronaut ...
* Federico Cafiero * Mark W. Clark * Gino De Giorgi (twice) * Ludovico De Filippi *
George Dey George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
* Arturo Ferrarin * Alfred Gause *
Joachim Helbig Joachim Helbig (10 September 1915 – 5 October 1985) was a German bomber pilot during World War II. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and served almost all of his career with Demonstration Wing 1 (''Lehrgeschwader'' 1 (LG 1)). With his unit, h ...
*
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
* Sir William Holmes *
Hans Kroh __NOTOC__ Hans Kroh (13 May 1907 – 18 July 1967) was a German paratroop general in the Wehrmacht and Bundeswehr and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Kroh started his military care ...
* *
Hans-Joachim Marseille Hans-Joachim Marseille (; 13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One o ...
* Mario Masciulli *
Walther Nehring Walther Nehring (15 August 1892 – 20 April 1983) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the Afrika Korps. Early life Nehring was born on 15 August 1892 in Stretzin, West Prussia. Nehring was the descendant of ...
*
Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
*
Hans-Ulrich Rudel Hans-Ulrich Rudel (2 July 1916 – 18 December 1982) was a German ground-attack pilot during World War II and a post-war neo-Nazi activist. The most decorated German pilot of the war and the only recipient of the Knight's Cross with ...
* Hippolyte De La Rue * Emanuele Ruspoli * Nazario Sauro *
Achille Starace Achille Starace (; 18 August 1889 – 29 April 1945) was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy before and during World War II. Early life and career Starace was born in Sannicola, province of Lecce, in southern Apulia. His father was a wine and ...
* Johannes Streich * Walkiria Terradura * Attilio Teruzzi * Edmond Thieffry *
Cervi Brothers The Cervi Brothers (Italian: ''Fratelli Cervi'') were the seven sons of Alcide Cervi (1875-1970) and Genoeffa Cocconi (1876-1944), born in Campegine, Emilia-Romagna. The brothers and their father became renowned for their activities in the organ ...
*
Hans von Luck Hans–Ulrich Freiherr von Luck und Witten (15 July 1911 – 1 August 1997), usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a German officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Luck served with the 7th Panzer Division and 21st Panze ...
* Guido Jung * Vincenzo Maturo *
Ada Gobetti Ada Gobetti (1902 – 1968) was an Italian teacher, journalist and anti-fascist leader. She was born Ada Prospero and later remarried to become Ada Marchesini. Biography With her husband Piero Gobetti she contributed to several antifascist ma ...
* Armando Diaz * Alfonso Dato


See also

*
Medal of Military Valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of company, and civilians for exceptio ...
*
Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The f ...
*
Bronze Medal of Military Valor The Bronze Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on 26 March 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold and Silver Medals for Military ...
* Italian medals 1860-today (Italian Wikipedia) *
List of military decorations This list of military decorations is an index to articles about notable military decorations. It is organized by country in alphabetical order and in order of precedence. Note that there are many pages which overlap the domain of this page, includi ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Medal Of Military Valor Military awards and decorations of Italy Courage awards * ca:Medalla al Valor Militar (Itàlia) fr:Médaille de la valeur militaire (Italie) it:Valor militare zh:银制勇敢勋章