Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected
without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have
been retained as printed.
Words printed in italics are marked with underlines: _italics_.
RECORD OF MEDALS OF HONOR
ISSUED TO THE
OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN OF THE UNITED STATES
NAVY MARINE CORPS AND COAST GUARD
1862-1923
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1924
ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. AT 20 CENTS PER COPY
ROLL OF HONOR
BEING A RECORD OF THE MEDALS OF HONOR ISSUED TO THE OFFICERS AND
ENLISTED MEN OF THE NAVY, MARINE CORPS, AND COAST GUARD, UNDER
AUTHORITY OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR DEEDS OF GALLANTRY
AND HEROISM IN TIMES OF WAR AND PEACE
¶ This record of the personnel who have shed luster upon the service by
upholding the honor of the flag in storm and battle, by their devotion
to the country and to each other, and by their unselfishness in risking
their own lives to save others, is especially commended to the rising
generation of American seamen, that they may emulate the deeds of their
heroic predecessors, and maintain that high standard of gallantry which
has always characterized the personnel of the United States naval
service.
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF NAVIGATION
NAVY DEPARTMENT
SEPTEMBER 1, 1924
W. R. SHOEMAKER
_Chief of Bureau_
MEDAL OF HONOR.
The original medal of honor was designed during the Civil War by A.
C. Paquet. The medal proper, a bronze five-pointed star bearing a
star-rimmed medallion of Minerva driving before her shield the figure
of Discord, was suspended by an anchor from the bottom buckle of a
ribbon having a blue band over thirteen vertical stripes of red and
white. This ribbon was attached at top and bottom to buckles of bronze,
the bottom buckle bearing a star.
Medal and ribbon were worn on the left breast until 1913. In that year
the medal was placed in its present distinctive position at the neck of
the wearer, being detached from its original ribbon and worn as a
pendant from a ribbon band woven through the anchor ring. The ribbon
band, which is of light blue with a cluster of thirteen small stars, is
worn around the neck.
The second medal of honor, added in 1919, is from the design of Tiffany
& Co., of New York. The medal, which is of gold, is in the form of a
cross superimposed upon a wreath of leaves. The center of the cross
bears the arms of the United States, framed by the inscription "United
States Navy, 1917-1918," and each arm of cross contains an anchor.
The new medal of honor is suspended from a ribbon consisting of a
triple chevron of thirteen white stars on a light blue field, the star
at point of chevron being uppermost. At the crest of this ribbon is a
bar which bears the single word "Valour." The new medal of honor is
also worn at the neck as a pendant, but in contrast to the old medal,
which is suspended direct from the ribbon band worn around the neck,
the new medal is suspended from the band by means of its ribbon.
The service ribbon bar worn in lieu of either medal of honor is light
blue and bears a cluster of white stars.
[Illustration: CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR
Awarded under Acts approved December 21, 1861, and March 3, 1915
See page 7]
[Illustration: CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR
Awarded under Act approved February 4, 1919
See page 9]
EXTRACTS FROM THE STATUTES AUTHORIZING THE ISSUE OF MEDALS OF HONOR
[Extract from the act to promote the efficiency of the Navy.]
SECTION 7. _And it is further enacted_, That the
Secretary of the Navy be, and is hereby, authorized to cause two
hundred medals of honor to be prepared with suitable emblematic
devices which shall be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen,
landsmen, and marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their
gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities during the present
war.
Approved December 21, 1861.
[Extract from the act to establish and equalize the grade of line
officers of the United States Navy.]