The Distinguished Service Cross

          The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military honor on the Pyramid of Honor, second only to the Medal of Honor. For the Army, it is the Distinguished Service Cross; for the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard it is the Navy Cross; and for the Air Force it is the Air Force Cross. At the time of World War I, the only military award issued for valor was the Medal of Honor, but there was no award to distinguish any act of heroism that was less than what was required by the Medal of Honor. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson and Congress instituted the Distinguished Service Cross (for combat heroism) and the Distinguished Service Medal (for non-combat heroism) for the United States Army. “It is the highest U.S. Army award that can be awarded to civilians in service to the military or to foreign nationals.  Even in these cases, the criteria for award are the same.”  A year later, 1919, the Navy Cross and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal were created for the Navy and the Marine Corps. However, at that point in time, since the Navy Cross was third behind the Medal of Honor and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, “more than one Navy Cross recipient regarded its award as a "snub" in lieu of the Distinguished Service Medal”. It wasn’t until 7 August 1942 that Congress placed the Navy Cross just under the Medal of Honor, making it the second highest award issued for the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard, and limiting it to combat-only heroism. For the United States Air Force, the award was originally called the “Distinguished Service Cross (Air Force)”. It was first proposed in 1947 after the establishment of the United States Air Force as its own military branch. The name was changed to the Air Force Cross on 6 July 1960 by Public Law 88-593 established by Congress. Since its establishment (for each branch) a grand total of 13,446 Distinguished Service Crosses have been awarded to military personnel and civilians. 440 of which were awarded to foreign military members and 11 were awarded to civilian personnel. 

To learn more about each, go to the following websites:

http://www.history.navy.mil/medals/navcross.htm

http://usafeenlistedheritage.org/distinguished/decorated/criteria/?id=3

http://www.homeofheroes.com/distinguishedservicecross/index.html