More On Army Medals

To the Editor:

I want to respond to the letters sent to you by Joseph J. McGowan regarding the order of precedence of Army medals and awards. Mr McGowan is correct but his comments need specific qualification.

There are eight medals between the Medal of Honor and the Bronze Star and the Distinguished Service Cross is next in order below the Medal of Honor. The distinction, however, lies in the fact that among those eight medals only three have the sole requirement that the recipient be involved in a war of conflict in which the United States is a belligerent party.

Those decorations are: Medal of Honor, Silver Star, and Bronze Star. All of the other medals in that sequence of eight (in accord with Army Regulations 670-1 and 672-1) provide for award in situations other than war or in which the United States is not a belligerent party. That distinction holds true for the Distinguished Service Cross as well, although the DSC can also be awarded for events involving actual combat. My comments were meant in the context of the Bronze Star being among those medals reserved exclusively for armed conflict.

The award of decorations in the armed services is a serious matter. It involves a recommendation by a party observing the event. That recommendation is then reviewed by an Award Board. The membership of the board is limited to service members who were not a direct party in the events described in the recommendation. The regulations are very specific and require detailed review before the award is finalized. The recommendation may be granted or denied or downgraded to a lesser award.

For example the Purple Heart (ranking just below the Bronze Star) can only be awarded for wounds received as a result of direct enemy action. Therefore a soldier wounded by accidental discharge of a weapon (even during actual conflict) is not entitled to the Purple Heart.

I thank Mr McGowan for his attention to detail in this matter.

Yours truly,

RP Gottmeier

13 Antler Pine Road, Sandy Hook                                 May 2, 2003