Medals For The Army Of The United States
Army medals are said to be recognitions to heroic acts while in the service and are issued in line with the propositions of the Defense department. The history of medals in the United States army started with custom medals called “badge of military merit,” which was founded by the late Gen. George Washington dating back to August 7, 1782 in the year of the revolutionary war. After that fateful day, more and more medals were added to give more distinguished honor to extraordinary efforts made in a soldier’s military service to his country.
The medal of the army is engraved with unique designs that shows the symbols of the United States and is commonly suspended by ribbons that can be worn in two ways: pinned to the uniform or worn around the neck. These medals can be made from precious metals the likes of gold, silver brass or bronze although more frequently silver and gold are used. The ribbons attached to the medals are usually in a stripe pattern of blue, white or red stripes which came from the pattern of the American flag itself.
These army medals are awarded in public or private ceremonies where the most fundamental military medals are being presented by the President of the country. In cases where the recipient dies from any cause prior to the award ceremony, the award medals would be presented to the members of his family. During official gatherings, these medals are commonly worn on the left side of the uniform and there are those that you can see to have been a recipient to numerous medals. These bestowed medals are ought to be worn in order of precedence from the many medals in the army.
It is through the use of regulations found within the code of the army that medals are issued to special individuals. There are a lot of categories where these medals are issued like meritorious service in battle, service during foreign occupation or missions, service during national emergency and so much more. In every category known to the army, there are about 20 important medals that can be awarded. Aside from the national level medals, there are also service medals, conduct medals, unit medals etc. There are some instances when simple civilians are awarded some of these medals due to special service they have made. In the US Armed forces, there is one medal that is of the greatest distinction among all other medals and that is the Medal of Honor. Only a select few were chosen to wear these medals and a lot of which have been awarded in recognition to their service during the past world wars where the United States has played a vital role.
There are a lot of meanings behind the medals awarded by the United States Armed Forces and such distinction given to a soldier means a whole lot more than the words imprinted on them. In a matter of life and death, in service for the country or fellow soldiers, medals are merits to only those who have lived the life of a hero.
