Distinguished Service Cross (United States)

From Free net encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)

Revision as of 23:32, 12 April 2006
12.145.108.11 (Talk | contribs)
/* Notable recipients */
Next diff →

Current revision

The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the second highest military decoration of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions which merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree to be above those required for all other U.S. combat decorations but not meeting the criteria for the Medal of Honor. The Distinguished Service Cross is equivalent to the Navy Cross (Navy and Marine Corps) and the Air Force Cross (Air Force).

The Distinguished Service Cross was first awarded during World War I. In addition, a number of awards were made for actions before World War One. In many cases, these were to soldiers who had received a Certificate of Merit for gallantry which, at the time, was the only other honor besides the Medal of Honor the Army could award. Others were belated recognition of actions in the Philippines, on the Mexican Border and during the Boxer Rebellion.

This decoration should not be confused with the Distinguished Service Medal, which recognizes meritorious service to the government of the United States (as a senior military officer or government official) rather than individual acts of bravery (as a member of the United States Army).

1 Description
2 Ribbon
3 Criteria
4 Components
5 Background
6 Awards
7 Notable recipients
8 External links

[edit]

Description

A cross of bronze, 2 inches in height and 1 13/16 inches in width with an eagle on the center and a scroll below the eagle bearing the inscription "FOR VALOR". On the reverse side, the center of the cross is circled by a wreath with a space for engraving the name of the recipient.

[edit]

Ribbon

The ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes:

1/8 inch Old Glory Red 67156;
1/16 inch White 67101;
1 inch Imperial Blue 67175;
1/16 inch White;
and 1/8 inch Old Glory Red.

[edit]

Criteria

The Distinguished Service Cross is awarded to a person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army, distinguishes himself by extraordinary heroism not justifying the award of a Medal of Honor; while engaged in an 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. The act or acts of heroism must have been so notable and have involved risk of life so extraordinary as to set the individual apart from his comrades.

[edit]

Components

The following are authorized components of the Distinguished Service Cross:

Decoration (regular size): MIL-D-3943/4. NSN 8455-00-269-5745 for decoration set. NSN 8455-00-246-3827 for individual replacement medal.
Decoration (miniature size): MIL-D-3943/4. NSN 8455-00-996-50007.
Ribbon: MIL-R-11589/50. NSN 8455-00-252-9919.
Lapel Button (metal replica of ribbon bar): MIL-L-11484/1. NSN 8455-00-253-0808.

[edit]

Background

The Distinguished Service Cross was established by President Woodrow Wilson on January 2, 1918. General Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France, had recommended that recognition other than the Medal of Honor, be authorized for the Armed Forces of the United States for valorous service rendered, in like manner, to that awarded by the European Armies. The request for establishment of the medal was forwarded from the Secretary of War to the President in a letter dated December 28, 1917. The Act of Congress establishing this award (193-65th Congress) dated July 9, 1918 is contained in Title 10 United States Code (USC) 3742. The establishment of the Distinguished Service Cross was promulgated in War Department General Order No. 6, dated January 12, 1918.

The first design of the Distinguished Service Cross was cast and manufactured by the United States Mint at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The die was cast from the approved design prepared by Lieutenant Aymar E. Embry, Engineers Officer Reserve Corps. Upon examination of the first medals struck at the Mint, it was considered advisable to make certain minor changes to add to the beauty and the attractiveness of the medal. Due to the importance of the time element involved in furnishing the decorations to General Pershing, one hundred of the medals were struck from the original design and numbered 1 to 100. These medals were furnished with the provision that these crosses be replaced when the supply of the second design was accomplished which would also be numbered 1 to 100.

Title 10, USC 3991, provides for a 10% increase in retired pay for enlisted personnel who have retired with more than 20 years of service if they have been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Order of precedence and wear of decorations is contained in Army Regulation (AR) 670-1. Policy for awards, approving authority, supply, and issue of decorations is contained in AR 600-8-22.

[edit]

Awards

During World War One, 6,309 awards of the Distinguished Service Cross were made to 6,185 recipients. Several dozen Army soldiers, as well as eight Marines and two French Army officers, received two Distinguished Service Crosses. A handful, mostly aviators, were decorated three or more times. Eddie Rickenbacker, the top U.S. ace of the war, received eight (one of which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor), and fellow aviators Douglas Campbell and Frank O'Driscoll "Monk" Hunter each received five. Aviator Reed McKinley Chambers and infantry officer John H. Parker each received four.

In the immediate aftermath of World War One, 62 awards were made for actions in North Russia and Siberia during the Russian Civil War. Also, approximately 132 retroactive awards were made for actions in previous conflicts, including the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican border conflicts. Fifteen soldiers previously awarded Certificates of Merit for non-combat gallantry between 1899 and 1917 were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

During World War Two, just over 5,000 awards were made. Technical Sergeant Llewellyn Chilson of the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, one of the most decorated soldiers of World War Two, received three Distinguished Service Crosses, as did Lt. Colonel John C. Meyer, U.S. Army Air Forces and Major General James A. Van Fleet. Chester Hirschfelder, who as a captain with the 5th Machine Gun Battalion, 2nd Division had received his first Distinguished Service Cross in 1918, received two more in 1944 as a colonel commanding the 9th Infantry Regiment. Three recipients of two Distinguished Service Crosses in World War One - Douglas A. MacArthur, Hanford MacNider and Harry H. Semmes - received a third in World War Two. Several dozen soldiers received two Distinguished Service Crosses in World War Two, and a smaller number who had received one in World War One, including George S. Patton, Jr., received a second in World War Two.

In the Korean War, there were 815 awards, of which over 300 were posthumous. Colonel Arthur Champeny, previously decorated for bravery at St. Mihiel in September 1918 and a second time at Santa Maria Infante, Italy in May 1944, received a third Distinguished Service Cross in September 1950. Fighter pilot William T. Whisner, recipient of two Distinguished Service Crosses in World War Two, was awarded a third in Korea. Ten World War Two recipients received a second in Korea, and nine men received two in Korea.

There were just over 1,000 awards in the Vietnam War, almost 400 of which were posthumous. James F. Hollingsworth, who received a Distinguished Service Cross in 1945 as commander of 2nd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, received two more in 1966 and 1967 as commander of the 1st Infantry Division. Thomas H. Tackaberry received his first Distinguished Service Cross in Korea and two more in Vietnam. Ten other soldiers earned two Distinguished Service Crosses in Vietnam, while one World War Two recipient, William E. DePuy, and two Korean War recipients, Richard E. Cavazos and Ralph Puckett, received a second in Vietnam.

Since Vietnam, as of early 2006, only three Distinguished Service Crosses have been awarded. One was awarded to a major with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Operation Enduring Freedom, for galantry in November 2001 at Qala-i-Jang Fortress, Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan. Two were awarded to soldiers for Operation Iraqi Freedom - one to a master sergeant with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command for gallantry in Fallujah, Iraq in April 2004, and one to a colonel serving as senior advisor to the 1st Iraqi Special Police Commando Brigade in Mosul, Iraq in November 2004.

[edit]