Product ID: 253
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 (Commander degree) 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. In contemporary use in the U.S. armed forces, the Legion of Merit is typically awarded to Army, Marine Corps and Air Force general officers and colonels, and Navy and Coast Guard flag officers and captains occupying command or very senior staff positions in their respective services. It may also be awarded to officers of lesser rank and senior enlisted personnel, but these instances are less frequent and circumstances vary by service.
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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 (Commander degree) 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. In contemporary use in the U.S. armed forces, the Legion of Merit is typically awarded to Army, Marine Corps and Air Force general officers and colonels, and Navy and Coast Guard flag officers and captains occupying command or very senior staff positions in their respective services. It may also be awarded to officers of lesser rank and senior enlisted personnel, but these instances are less frequent and circumstances vary by service.
Contents [hide]
1 Criteria
2 History
3 Appearance
4 Notable recipients
4.1 Chief Commander
4.2 Commander
4.3 Officer
4.4 Legionnaire
5 References
6 External links
[edit] 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:
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].
Commander: Equivalent of a U.S. military Chief of Staff or higher position but not to Chief of State.
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.
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.
[edit] 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 24 December 1941, 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 5 January 1942.
The Assistant Chief of Staff (G1) (BG Hilldring), in a response to the QMG on 3 April 1942, 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 20 July 1942, 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 5 August 1942. Executive Order 9260, dated 29 October 1942, 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 15 March 1955, 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.