Soldier's Medal

Soldier's Medal
Type	Medal
Status	Currently awarded
Soldier's Medal ribbon
Precedence
Next (higher)	Distinguished Flying Cross
Equivalent	Navy - Navy and Marine Corps Medal Air Force - Airman's Medal Coast Guard - Coast Guard Medal
Next (lower)	Bronze Star

The Soldier's Medal is a military award of the United States Army. It was introduced by a law passed by U.S. Congress on July 2, 1926. The criteria for the medal are: "The Soldier's Medal is awarded to any person of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly foreign nation who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of the United States, distinguished himself or herself by heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy." (Army Regulation 600-8-22).

Overview

This medal is awarded for risking one's life to save another's. The medal is awarded in peacetime for actions of heroism held to be equal to or greater than the level which would have justified an award of the Distinguished Flying Cross if the act had taken place in combat, and involved actual conflict with an enemy. Any American servicemember who is eligible for retirement pay will receive an increase of 10 percent in retirement pay, if the level of valor was equal to that which would earn the Distinguished Service Cross.

The first medals were awarded on October 17, 1927 to John F. Burns and James P. Martin, for heroism during a fire and to James K. Wilson and Cleophas C. Burnett for saving people from drowning.

Notable recipients of the Soldier's Medal include Colin Powell, who was awarded the decoration during his second tour in Vietnam (1968-69) when he was injured in a helicopter crash and, despite his wounds, rescued two comrades from the burning wreckage. In 1968 three soldiers were awarded with this medal for their intervention in the My Lai Massacre (1968). They were Hugh Thompson, Jr., Lawrence Colburn and Glenn Andreotta; Andreotta was awarded the decoration posthumously. In 2001, following the terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the U.S. Army issued an unprecedented number of these awards (28), to personnel who risked their own lives to assist their fellow comrades in the wake of the attack.

At least one hundred Soldier's Medals have been issued since the onset of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Soldier's Medal is considered to be equivalent to the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the Airman's Medal, and the Coast Guard Medal.

See also

• Awards and decorations of the United States military
• Awards and decorations of the United States Army
• List of military decorations
• List of Soldier's Medal recipients

External links

• US Army Institute of Heraldry: Soldier's Medal
• Soldier's Medal - Criteria, Background, and Images
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