The Certificate of Merit Medal was a military decoration of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

that was issued between the years of 1905 and 1918. The Certificate of Merit Medal replaced the much older Certificate of Merit which was authorized by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

on March 3, 1847.

History

The system of

military awards and decorations Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a meda ...

presented to members of the United States Military can trace its lineage to the

Badge of Military Merit The Badge of Military Merit was a military award of the United States Armed Forces. It is largely considered America's first military decoration, and the second oldest in the world (after the Cross of St. George). The award was only given to non-c ...

. This military award, established by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, was given in recognition of soldiers who displayed unusual gallantry or extraordinary fidelity. Awarded three times during the Revolutionary War, the Badge of Military Merit was not awarded again. Thus, for more than 50 years the United States Military had no official military decorations.

Original Certificate of Merit

The original Certificate of Merit was authorized by an Act of Congress related to the expansion of the US Army during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

(1846–1848). The legislation authorized brevets to non-commissioned officers and for privates who distinguished themselves in service "the President may in like manner grant him a certificate of merit, which shall entitle him to additional pay at the rate of two dollars per month." This was a step forward in the recognition of the individual contributions of soldiers. The first certificates were only authorized for Privates and it was not until 1854 that the Certificate of Merit was awarded to NCOs the rank of Sergeant and above. The Certificate of Merit was never authorized for officers. During this period from at least 1865 to 1904, the Certificate was used as an equivalent to the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

. This created a dilemma for some soldiers, who applied for both awards, hoping to benefit from the pay increase included with the Certificate, in spite of the fact that military protocol restricted them to only one decoration. George Jordan is an example of a soldier who received both. It was issued to 545 soldiers during the Mexican–American War. After the war, the Certificate of Merit was discontinued.

Reintroduced Certificate of Merit

Though the Army was of the position that it no longer had the authority to award the Certificate of Merit, commanders in the field continued to recommend soldiers for the award, but the Army did not act on the nominations. Following the

Battle of Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

in 1876, the Certificate of Merit was reintroduced. In 1892, the criteria for the Certificate of Merit was changed. Adjutant General's Circular number 2 dated 11 February 1892 stated:

Medals of honor should be awarded to officers or enlisted men for distinguished bravery in action, while certificates of merit should, under law, be awarded for distinguished service, whether in action or otherwise, of a valuable character to the United States as, for example, extraordinary exertion in the preservation of human life, or in the preservation of public property, or rescuing public property from destruction by fire or otherwise, or any hazardous service by which the Government is saved loss in men or material. Simple heroism in battle, on the contrary, is fitly rewarded by a medal of honor, although such act of heroism may not have resulted in any benefit to the United States. Where the conduct of an enlisted man, non-commissioned officer or private has been represented to merit both a medal of honor and a certificate of merit, recommendation may be made for both, either simultaneously or at different times.

Soldiers, both privates and non-commissioned officers, were eligible for award of a Certificate of Merit upon the recommendation of their regimental or corps commander. Service could be in peacetime or in time of war. These regulations remained in effect until 9 July 1918.

Certificate of Merit Medal

In 1905, a medal was created for those holding a Certificate of Merit and called the Certificate of Merit Medal. This medal was authorized for wear on a United States military uniform. It was always worn following the

, before all

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hig ...

s. The first recipient of the Certificate of Merit Medal was

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

William B. Baker, who was presented medal No. 1 on 30 December 1907. Baker had received an original Certificate of Merit as a

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

on 13 August 1898. The last act recognized by a Certificate of Merit was May 1918, when Corporal Paul Scaletta made a water rescue of soldiers in dangerous surf condition at Ocean Beach, California. The last soldier to be awarded the Certificate of Merit Medal was George Arrington for his service while a Private with the 24th Infantry Regiment in 1889. He was awarded medal No. 361, and subsequently converted it to a

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

Conversion

The Certificate of Merit Medal was declared obsolete on July 19, 1918. Those holding the Certificate of Merit Medal could exchange their medal for the newly created

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

. In 1934, Congress changed the regulation allowing the conversion of the medal to the

, including those converted to the Distinguished Service Medal.

Appearance

The medal is bronze, 1.25 inches in diameter. The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

depicts an eagle facing left, with its wings partially spread. The eagle is surrounded by the inscription ''VIRTUTIS ET AUDACIAE MONUMENTUM ET PRAEMIUM'' (''Virtue and Audacity are Their Own Monument and Reward''). The reverse of the medal bears the word, ''FOR MERIT'' surrounded by an oak wreath of two branches, the stems joined at the bottom by a bow. Around the edge in relief are the words, ''UNITED STATES ARMY'' at the top and thirteen stars below. The suspension and

service ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

of the Certificate of Merit Medal is red, white and blue. It has two stripes of blue at the edges with equal stripes of white. A wide central stripe of red is bisected by a thin stripe of white.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Certificate Of Merit Medal Awards and decorations of the United States Army Courage awards Military awards and decorations of the United States