Legion of Merit

Legion of Merit
Awarded by United States Department of Defense
Type	Medal
Awarded for	exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements
Status	Currently awarded
Statistics
First awarded	1942
Precedence
Next (higher)	Defense Superior Service Medal
Next (lower)	Distinguished Flying Cross
ribbon

The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued both to United States military personnel and to military and political figures of foreign governments. The Legion of Merit is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as a neck order (the other being the Medal of Honor) and the only United States decoration which may be issued in award degrees (much like an Order of chivalry or certain Orders of Merit).^[1][2]

The Legion of Merit is sixth in the order of precedence of U.S. military decorations, and is worn after the Defense Superior Service Medal and before the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Criteria

• The degrees of Chief Commander, Commander, Officer, and Legionnaire are awarded only to members of armed forces of foreign nations under the criteria outlined in US Army Regulation 672-7 and is based on the relative rank or position of the recipient as follows:

1. Chief Commander - Chief of State or Head of Government. However this degree has been awarded by President Roosevelt to some Allied World War II theatre commanders usually of joint amphibious landings or invasions. The President appeared to have this power under Executive Order 9260 of 29 October 1942 paragraph 3b^[3].
2. Commander - Equivalent of a U.S. military Chief of Staff or higher position but not to Chief of State.
3. Officer - General or Flag Officer below the equivalent of a U.S. military Chief of Staff; Colonel or equivalent rank for service in assignments equivalent to those normally held by a General or Flag Officer in U.S. military service; or Military Attaches.
4. Legionnaire - All recipients not included above.

• When the Legion of Merit is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States it is awarded without reference to degree. The criteria are "for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements". Additional awards of the Legion of Merit are denoted by oak leaf clusters, in the Army and Air Force, and by award stars in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The sea services also permit the wearing of the Valor device on the Legion of Merit, while the Army and Air Force do not.
• The performance must have been such as to merit recognition of key individuals for service rendered in a clearly exceptional manner.
• Performance of duties normal to the grade, branch, specialty or assignment, and experience of an individual is not an adequate basis for this award.
• For service not related to actual war the term “key individual” applies to a narrower range of positions than in time of war and requires evidence of significant achievement.
• In peacetime, service should be in the nature of a special requirement or of an extremely difficult duty performed in an unprecedented and clearly exceptional manner.
• However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of important positions.

• The degrees and the design of the decoration were clearly influenced by the French Légion d'honneur.

History

Although recommendations for creation of a Meritorious Service Medal were initiated as early as September 1937, no formal action was taken toward approval.

In a letter to the Quartermaster General (QMG) dated 1941-12-24, the Adjutant General formally requested action be initiated to create a Meritorious Service Medal and provide designs in the event the decoration was established. Proposed designs prepared by Bailey, Banks, and Biddle and the Office of the Quartermaster General were provided to Assistant Chief of Staff (G1) (Colonel Heard) by the QMG on 1942-01-05.

The Assistant Chief of Staff (G1) (BG Hilldring), in a response to the QMG on 1942-04-03, indicated the Secretary of War approved the design recommended by the QMG. The design of the Legion of Merit (change of name) would be ready for issue immediately after legislation authorizing it was enacted into law.

An Act of Congress (Public Law 671 - 77th Congress, Chapter 508, 2d Session) on 1942-07-20, established the Legion of Merit and provided that the medal "shall have suitable appurtenances and devices and not more than four degrees, and which the President, under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, may award to

(a) personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States and of the Government of the Commonwealth Philippines and

(b) personnel of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations who, since the proclamation of an emergency by the President on 1939-09-08, shall have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services."

The medal was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 40, dated 1942-08-05. Executive Order 9260, dated 1942-10-29, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established the rules for the Legion of Merit and required the President's approval for the award. However, in 1943, at the request of General George C. Marshall, approval authority for U.S. personnel was delegated to the War Department.

Executive Order 10600, dated 1955-03-15, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, revised approval authority. Current provisions are contained in Title 10, United States Code 1121.

The reverse of the medal has the motto taken from the Great Seal of the United States "ANNUIT COEPTIS" (He [God] Has Favored Our Undertakings) and the date "MDCCLXXXII" (1782) which is the date of America's first decoration, the Badge of Military Merit, now known as the Purple Heart. The ribbon design also follows the pattern of the Purple Heart ribbon.

Notable recipients

Chief Commander

Nationality	Rank	Name	Force	Date	Comments
	Lieutenant-General	Kenneth A.N. Anderson, CB, MC	British Army	18 June 1943
	Generalissimo	Chiang Kai-shek	Chinese Armed Forces	July 1943
	General	Bernard Law Montgomery, KCB, DSO	British Army	6 August 1943
	Temporary Air Chief Marshal	Sir Arthur William Tedder, GCB	Royal Air Force	27 August 1943
	Marshal of the Soviet Union	Aleksandr Mikhajlovich Vasilevskij	Red Army	22 June 1944
	Chief Marshal Of Aviation	Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Novikov	Military Air Forces	22 June 1944
	Rear-Admiral	Sir Victor Crutchley VC, KCB, DSC	Royal Navy	September 1944
	Air Marshal	Arthur Travers Harris, OBE, AFC	Royal Air Force	17 October 1944
	King	George VI of the United Kingdom	British Armed Forces	1945
	Air Chief Marshal	William Sholto Douglas, GCB, MC, DFC	Royal Air Force
	First Sea Lord	Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham GCB, DSO	Royal Navy
	Admiral	Sir John Henry Dacres Cunningham KCB	Royal Navy		For gallant and distinguished service during the invasion operations in Northern Italy and the South of France.
	Admiral	Sir Bertram Home Ramsay KCB, KBE, MVO	Royal Navy	15 January 1945	For gallant and distinguished service whilst in command of the invasion operations on Normandy.
	Acting Air Marshal	Sir Arthur Coningham KCB, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC	Royal Air Force
	Commander-In-Chief	Crown Prince Abd al-Ilāh	Iraqi Armed Forces	1 June 1945
	Vice Admiral	Sir Philip Vian KBE, CMG	Royal Navy	17 July 1945
	Marshal of the Soviet Union	Georgij Zhukov	Red Army	1945
	Marshal of the Soviet Union	Ivan Stepanovich Konev	Red Army	1945
	Marshal of the Soviet Union	Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov	Red Army
	Army General	Stanislav Giljarovich Poplavskij	Red Army
	Marshal of the Soviet Union	Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov	Red Army
	Marshal of the Soviet Union	Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskij	Red Army
	General	Andrej Ivanovich Yeryomenko	Red Army
	King	Michael I of Romania	Romanian Armed Forces	1945
	General	Charles De Gaulle	French Armed Forces	24 August 1945
	Emperor	Haile Selassie	Ethiopian Armed Forces	1945
	Vice Admiral	Sir Geoffrey Blake KCB, DSO	Royal Navy	6 November 1945
	Chief of Defence of Norway	Crown Prince Olav	Norwegian Armed Forces	23 November 1945	"exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services from August 1944 to July 1945"
	King	Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdur Rahman al Faisal Al Saud	Saudi Arabian Armed Forces	18 February 1947
	President	Miguel Aleman	Mexican Armed Forces	1 May 1947
	Shah	Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi	Iranian Armed Forces	7 October 1947
	General	Dragoljub Mihailović	Yugoslav Royal Army	29 March 1948
	General	Sir William Slim, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, ADC	British Army	1948
	Prime Minister	The Rt Hon. Robert Menzies, KC, MP	Australian Armed Forces	1950
	General	Kodandera Madappa Cariappa	Indian Army	1950
	King	Paul I	Greek Armed Forces	28 October 1953
	President	Celal Bayar	Turkish Armed Forces	27 January 1954
	Field Marshal	Luang Plaek Pibulsonggram	Thai Royal Army	2 May 1955
	King	Rama IX	Thai Armed Forces	28 June 1960
	General	Kim Yong-Bae	Republic Of Korea Army	14 February 1968	For service April 1965 to March 1966. Revoked in commander degree and replaced with chief commander.
	Minister	Kim Sung-Eun	Republic Of Korea	9 December 1968	For service March 1963 to June 1966
	President	Kenan Evren	Turkish Armed Forces	27 June 1988
	General	Wolfgang Schneiderhan	Bundeswehr
	General	Hilmi Özkök	Turkish Armed Forces	2002
	Major General	Tariq Khan	Pakistan Army	9 December 2007
	General	Gabi Ashkenazi	Israeli Defence Forces	24 July 2008
	General	Ashfaq Parvez Kayani	Pakistani Army	26 February 2009

Commander

Nationality	Rank	Name	Force	Date	Comments
	Brigadier General	Amaro Soares Bittencourt	Brazilian Army	1942	First recipient of this medal in any degree.
	Lieutenant General	Sir Bernard Cyril Freyberg, VC, KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO	2nd New Zealand Division, New Zealand Military Forces	2 August 1945
	General	Stefan Pawel Rowecki	Armia Krajowa	9 August 1984	Awarded by Ronald Reagan posthumously forty years and one week after his death at the hands of the Gestapo.
	General	Toshio Tamogami	Air Self-Defense Force	19 August 2008	[4]

• • Colombian's General I.M Elias Nino Herrera, Colombian Marine Corps, For exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service as Commandant of the Colombian Marine Corps. General Nino's cooperation and understanding have been a significant contribution to the mutual friendship between Colombia and the United States.
  • Ecuador's General de Ejercito (General of the Army) Paco Moncayo, because of his exceptionally superior performance as Chief of the Armed Forces Joint Command and his contribution to Ecuadorian history, politics and democracy
  • The Philippine's General Fidel Valdez Ramos, former President of the Philippines and a 1950 West Point United States Military Academy graduate
  • The Philippine's General Alfredo M. Santos, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines 1962 - 1965
  • Australia's Chiefs of the Defence Force - General Sir Phillip Bennett, Generals John Baker, and General Peter Cosgrove
  • General Alfred John Gardyne Drummond de Chastelain, OC, CMM, CH, CD was appointed Commander of the Legion of Merit in 1995, and in 1999, he was made a Companion of Honour by HM The Queen. He is the former Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada) for the Canadian Forces and he is the Chairman of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning since November 1995 for the Northern Ireland peace process.
  • Canada's Rear Admiral Leonard W. Murray, Commander-in-Chief Canadian North West Atlantic during World War II and architect of the Battle of the Atlantic.
  • Lt. Gen. Władysław Anders, Polish General and the Commander of the 2nd Polish Corps.
  • German Generals Hans-Otto Budde, Adolf Heusinger, Klaus Naumann and Wolfgang Schneiderhan
  • French Generals Edgard de Larminat, Alain de Boissieu, Vincent Desportes and Jean-Louis Georgelin
  • Bangladesh Army's Brigadier General Sharif Uddin Ahmed was the first Bangladeshi General to receive this award for his outstanding service as the Defence Attache from 1985 to 1989 in Bangladesh Embassy, United States.
  • General Michel Roquejeoffre, |French Army, 14 July 1991.
  • General Sir Peter de la Billière KCB, KBE, DSO, MC & bar, Commander British Forces Middle East during Gulf War I, 14 July 1991.
  • General Michael John Dawson Walker, Baron Walker of Aldringham GCB, CMG, CBE, ADC, DL, former Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) in the United Kingdom and Commander of the Implementation Force in Bosnia.
  • Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park of New Zealand, Royal Air Force WW2 commander during the Battle of Britain and later Allied Air Commander South East Asia.
  • Wing Commander Guy Gibson, Royal Air Force, WW2 leader of the Dams raid (Operation Chastise) in 1943.
  • Turkish ex-Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt (12 December 2005)
  • Major General William Henry Evered Poole, CB, CBE, DSO, Commander of the 6th South African Armoured Division which was part of the 5th US Army during the Italian Campaign in World War II.
  • Admiral Sir Gerald Charles Dickens KCVO, CB, CMG, of the Royal Navy (1945), commander WW2.
  • Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier (1946)
  • Russian Navy Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Vasilyevich Masorin

• Officer:
  • First recipients were Colonel Johanes K. Meijer of the Royal Netherlands Army, Major Herbert J. Thompson of the British Army, and Major Stephan M. Dobrowalski of the Polish Army.
  • At the beginning of the North African campaign, General Lyman L. Lemnitzer accompanied General Mark Wayne Clark by submarine to North Africa. Upon arrival, about 60 officers were awarded the Legion of Merit and were among the first awarded the medal. By some misunderstanding as to the rules governing the awards, these 60 American officers were awarded the degree of Officer. According to Lemnitzer, President Roosevelt was quite annoyed but did not rescind the awards. These were the only U.S. officers (or service personnel of any rank) awarded the Legion of Merit with a degree.
  • In 1945 two members of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force were honored for valor, determination and sacrifice lending air support to American soldiers on the ground saving countless American lives in the Pacific theater of operations. These two outstanding soldiers were Colonel Antonio Cardenas Rodriguez and Captain Radames Gaxiola Andrade.
  • In 1996 LGen Roméo Dallaire of the Canadian Army was made an Officer of the Legion for his role as Commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda during the civil war and subsequent genocide.
  • Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy Head of the Royal Air Force, for his part in operation Telic/ Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  • Brigadier General Tariq Khan became the first Pakistani Officer to receive the award for meritorious services as a liaison officer during Operations Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He received the award on 9 December 2007.
  • Group Captain Harry Day, senior Officer at numerous POW camps during World War II, and significantly helped American POWs endure the captivity, as well as organising escape operations.

• Legionnaire:
  • First award to Lieutenant Ann A. Bernatitus, heroic Navy Nurse who served at Bataan and Corregidor,^[5] in October 1942
  • Commander Laurence George Durlacher (later Admiral and fifth Sea Lord), Royal Navy 1946 "..and contributed in large measure to the successes achieved by the Allied forces in [the invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland]
  • Francis Grevemberg, for outstanding performance at Anzio, Italy, during World War II.
  • Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Richardson United States Army ca. 1958
  • Carlton W. Kent, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps from 2007, two awards.
  • Colonel John Boyd, USAF, important military strategist, creator of the OODA Loop.
  • David H. Hackworth - Highly decorated Vietnam veteran who was awarded several Silver Stars and 2 Distinguished Service Crosses
  • Hyman G. Rickover, the "Father of the Nuclear Navy"
  • Michael Mullen, six awards, Chief of Naval Operations, later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
  • John P. Abizaid, six awards, former commander of U.S. Central Command
  • Edward L. Beach, Jr., commanding officer of USS Triton (SSRN-586) for the first submerged circumnavigation of the world.
  • Edwin Hubble, American astronomer, for his WWII work at the Aberdeen Proving Ground.
  • Paul X. Rinn, commanding officer of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), who led his crew to save their mine-damaged warship in the Persian Gulf in 1988.
  • William C. Rogers III, former commanding officer of the USS Vincennes (CG-49), which shot down an Iranian jetliner in 1988.
  • David Niven, Lt-Col, British Commando in WWII.
  • Audie Murphy, most highly decorated US soldier of WWII. Also received Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Stars, 2 Bronze Stars w/V Device, 3 Purple Hearts and many others (33 total awards, U.S. and Foreign).
  • George Stevens, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army; the two-time Oscar-winning film director headed the U.S. Army Signal Corps unit that filmed the Normandy landings and the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp.
  • Kirk Lippold, CDR, Commanding officer of the USS Cole (DDG-67) which was attacked by suicide bombers in the port of Aden, Yemen on October 12, 2000. 2 awards (2nd while aboard USS Cole).
  • James G. Stavridis, U.S. Admiral, Southern Command, 5 awards.
  • John Kline, United States Congressman (2003-present), 4 awards.
  • Senator John McCain, Naval aviator and Vietnam Prisoner of War
  • William "Billy" Waugh, for Special Forces service during the Vietnam conflict.
  • Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Tuskegee Airman of 99th Squadron was awarded in 1944
  • Colonel Todd David Hess, First AF member to receive Army Legion of Medical Merit; DCCS LRMC, 435th Medical Squadron, Germany. First physician to ever perform a cataract extraction via phacoemulsification in the history of the RAF Lakenheath hospital.
  • Lt. Cmdr. Henry Plage, Captain of the USS Tabberer, the ship that rescued 55 U.S. Naval personnel during and after the cyclone of December 1944, despite dangerous seas and damage the Tabberer.
  • Admiral Patrick M. Walsh, (with 3 award stars), Vice Chief of Naval Operations US Navy
  • Jerauld Wright, U.S. Navy, 2 awards.
  • Vice Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr., United States Navy
  • Rear Admiral Nicholas Goodhart, Royal Navy, for the invention of the mirror-sight deck landing system. Awarded in 1958
  • Captain Kay Summersby, driver and secretary to General Eisenhower during the Second World War.
  • Master Sergeant Michael Clemens, Special Investigator, Abu Ghraib Detainee Abuse investigation.
  • Command Sergeant Major Danny L. Chambers, Ohio Army National Guard.
  • First Sergeant Ronald R. Mihalko, 1st Infantry Division (United States), United States Army awarded in 2003. [[1]]^[6]
  • First Sergeant Carl E. Howard, 25th Infantry Division (United States), United States Army awarded in 2007. [[2]]

^[7]

Appearance

Chief Commander	Commander	Officer	Legionnaire
Ribbon

• The Chief Commander Degree of the Legion of Merit Medal is, on a wreath of green laurel joined at the bottom by a gold bow-knot (rosette), a domed five-pointed white star bordered crimson, points reversed with v-shaped extremities tipped with a gold ball. In the center, a blue disk encircled by gold clouds, with 13 white stars arranged in the pattern that appears on the United States Coat of Arms. Between each point, within the wreath are crossed arrows pointing outwards. The overall width is 2 15/16 inches (75 mm). The words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" are engraved in the center of the reverse. A miniature of the decoration in gold on a horizontal gold bar is worn on the service ribbon.

• The Commander Degree of the Legion of Merit Medal is, on a wreath of green laurel joined at the bottom by a gold bow-knot (rosette), a five-pointed white star bordered crimson, points reversed with v-shaped extremities tipped with a gold ball. In the center, a blue disk encircled by gold clouds, with 13 white stars arranged in the pattern that appears on the United States Coat of Arms. Between each star point, within the wreath, are crossed arrows pointing outwards. The overall width is 2¼ inches (57 mm). A gold laurel wreath in the v-shaped angle at the top connects an oval suspension ring to the neck ribbon that is 1 15/16 inches (49 mm) in width. The reverse of the five-pointed star is enameled in white, and the border is crimson. In the center, a disk for engraving the name of the recipient surrounded by the words "ANNUIT COEPTIS MDCCLXXXII." An outer scroll contains the words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." The service ribbon is the same as the ribbon for the degree of Chief Commander, except the ribbon attachment is Silver.

The neck ribbon for the degree of Commander is 1 15/16 inches (49 mm) wide and consists of the following stripes: 1/16 inch (2 mm) white 67101; center 1 13/16 inches (46 mm) crimson and 1/16 inch (2 mm) white.

• The Officer Degree of the Legion of Merit Medal is similar to the degree of Commander except the overall width is 1 7/8 inches (48 mm) and the pendant has a suspension ring instead of the wreath for attaching the ribbon. A gold replica of the medal, ¾ inch (19 mm) wide, is centered on the suspension ribbon.

• The Legionnaire Degree of the Legion of Merit Medal and the Legion of Merit Medal issued to U.S. personnel is the same as the degree of Officer, except the suspension ribbon does not have the medal replica.

The ribbon for all of the decorations is 1 3/8 inches (35 mm) wide and consists of the following stripes: 1/16 inch (2 mm) white; center 1¼ inches (32 mm) crimson; and 1/16 inch (2 mm) white. The reverse of all of the medals has the motto taken from the Great Seal of the United States "ANNUIT COEPTIS" (He (God) Has Favored Our Undertakings) and the date "MDCCLXXXII" (1782), which is the date of America's first decoration, the Badge of Military Merit, now known as the Purple Heart. The ribbon design also follows the pattern of the Purple Heart ribbon.

References

External links

• Legion of Merit - Criteria, Background, and Images
• Order of precedence, United States Navy

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