The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting program. The award is made by the National Court of Honor and the recipient need not be a registered member of the BSA.

Award

The award consists of a silver buffalo (

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply Bubalina, buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongs ...

) medal suspended from a red and white ribbon worn around the neck. Recipients may wear the corresponding square knot, with a white strand over a red strand, on the BSA uniform. Using the United States military as the model, silver awards are the highest awards in the BSA.

History

The concept of the Silver Buffalo was based on the Silver Wolf Award of the Boy Scout Association. The buffalo pendant was designed by A. Phimister Proctor. A red-white-red ribbon bar was introduced in 1934 for informal uniform wear. In 1946, ribbon bars were replaced by the current knot insignia. During the first presentation in 1926, twenty-two awards were presented in a particular order determined by Chief Scout Executive James E. West. Since then, the awards have been presented on an annual basis in alphabetical order. The first Silver Buffalo Award was conferred upon Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement and Chief Scout of the World. This award is represented by a small buffalo statue in

Gilwell Park Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Gu ...

. The second went to the Unknown Scout who inspired William D. Boyce to form the BSA. In 1928, the World War I soldier buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns was awarded the Silver Buffalo for distinguished service to America's youth. Six

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 ...

recipients have received the Silver Buffalo: The Unknown Soldier of WWI 1928,

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

1928,

Richard Evelyn Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

1929, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. 1934,

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Douglas MacArthur 1963. Three of the 28

Congressional Space Medal of Honor The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized by the United States Congress in 1969 to recognize "any astronaut who in the performance of his or her duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and con ...

recipients have received the Silver Buffalo: John Glenn 1965, Neil Armstrong 1970, and

Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. (; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of th ...

1992. Five father/son pairs have earned the Silver Buffalo, Mortimer L. Schiff 1926 and John M. Schiff 1943, John Randolph Donnell 1958 and John R. Donnell Jr. 1990, J. Willard Marriott 1980 and J.W. Marriott, Jr. 1994, George H. W. Bush 1990 and George W. Bush 2002 and R. Lawry Hunsaker 2004 and Russ Hunsaker 2013. Additionally, six husband/wife pairs have earned the Silver Buffalo, Ronald Reagan 1982 and Nancy Reagan 1988, Wayne M. Perry 2006 and Christine Perry 2016, Gail and Dale Coyne 2011, Edward Arnold 2011 and Jeanne Arnold 2013, George F. Francis, III 2001 Elaine Smith Francis 2013, and Justin D. (Dan) McCarthy 2012 and Carol McCarthy 2017. Three Chief Justices of the Supreme Court have been awarded the Silver Buffalo: #10

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

1927, #11

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

1944, and #15 Warren E. Burger 1988. Fifteen

Presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and ...

have been awarded the Silver Buffalo: #27

1927, #30 Calvin Coolidge 1929, #31

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

1930, #32 Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1930, #33

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

1950, #34

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

1946, #36

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

1964, #37

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

1971, #38 Gerald Ford 1975 (also a Distinguished Eagle Scout), #39

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

1978, #40 Ronald Reagan 1982, #41 George H. W. Bush 1990, #42

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

1997, #43 George W. Bush 2002, and #44

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

2013. Eight Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been awarded the Silver Buffalo: #7

Heber J. Grant Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...

1938, #8 George Albert Smith 1934, #9 David O. McKay 1953, #11 Harold B. Lee 1963, #12 Spencer W. Kimball 1984, #13

Ezra Taft Benson Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and ...

1954, #15 Gordon B. Hinckley 1994, and #16 Thomas S. Monson 1978. For fifty years the Silver Buffalo was awarded only to men until LaVern W. Parmley became the first woman to receive the honor in 1976. , there have been 836 individual recipients, the 2001 award to The Oak Ridge Boys, the 2011 award to Gail and

Dale Coyne Dale Coyne (born July 8, 1954 in Minooka, Illinois) is an IndyCar Series team owner and former Champ Car auto racing team owner and driver. Driving career Coyne made his CART debut in 1984 at Portland and failed to qualify. He attempted to make ...

, and the 2022 award to the Survivors of Abuse in Scouting which makes for 839 distinct recipients.

References

{{Scouting Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America Awards established in 1926

Award

History

See also

References