The Distinguished Service Medal ( DSM ) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving in a duty or position of great responsibility. The Distinguished Service Medal was created by an act of the United States Congress on July 6, 1960 and was first awarded in 1965. Prior to the creation of the Distinguished Service Medal in 1960, United States Air Force airmen were awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal .
21-562: The Distinguished Service Medal is equivalent to the Army's Distinguished Service Medal , Naval Service's Navy Distinguished Service Medal , and the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal . The interpretation of the phrase "great responsibility" means that this medal is generally awarded only to officers who hold at least the rank of major general . However, as is customary for most military decorations,
42-578: Is clearly exceptional. The exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration. The Army's Distinguished Service Medal is equivalent to the Naval Service's Navy Distinguished Service Medal , Air and Space Forces' Distinguished Service Medal , and the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal . Prior to the creation of the Air Force's Distinguished Service Medal in 1960, United States Air Force airmen were awarded
63-537: The Department of the Air Force . Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army) The Distinguished Service Medal ( DSM ) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that
84-603: The My Lai massacre Notable American and foreign recipients include: Note – includes Army Air Service, Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces Major General Franklin L McKean - https://ocsalumni.org/at_biz_dir/franklin-l-mckean/ Title 10 of the United States Code Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of United States Armed Forces . It provides the legal basis for
105-480: The Air Force, are unusual. Two notable exceptions are astronauts Colonel Buzz Aldrin and Colonel David Scott (who flew on Gemini 8, Apollo 9, and Apollo 15) who was awarded the medal twice. Recipients during the medal's first 6 years included General Emmett E. "Rosie" O'Donnell Jr . (a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces from 1959 to 1963). O'Donnell also led
126-740: The Army Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower are tied with five awards each received of the Army Distinguished Service Medal. They also each received one award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, for a total of six DSMs each. General Lucius D. Clay (Four Star) received three Army DSM awards for his service that included Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces (European Theater) and Military Governor of Germany. During his tenure, Gen. Clay solved his greatest challenge:
147-731: The Army DSM and five awards of the Defense DSM for a total of nine DSMs. Among notable recipients below flag rank are: X-1 test pilot Chuck Yeager and X-15 test pilot Robert M. White , who both received the DSM as U.S. Air Force majors; director Frank Capra , decorated in 1945 as an army colonel; actor James Stewart , decorated in 1945 as an Army Air Forces colonel (later Air Force Brigadier General); Colonel Wendell Fertig , who led Filipino guerrillas behind Japanese lines; Colonel (later Major General) John K. Singlaub , who led partisan forces in
168-515: The Army Distinguished Service Medal is principally awarded to general officers, a list of notable recipients would include nearly every general, and some admirals, since 1918, many of whom received multiple awards, as well as a few civilians and sergeants major prominent for their contributions to national defense. General Martin Dempsey , former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , holds
189-670: The Army's Distinguished Service Medal. The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to any person - effectively, general officers - who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Army, has distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service which is clearly exceptional. Exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration. For service not related to actual war,
210-547: The Department of the Army stopped publishing awards of the DSM in Department of the Army General Orders, over 2,800 further awards were made. Prior to World War II the DSM was the only decoration for non-combat service in the U.S. Army. As a result, before World War II the DSM was awarded to a wider range of recipients than during and after World War II. During World War I awards of the DSM to officers below
231-530: The Korean War; and Major Maude C. Davison , who led the " Angels of Bataan and Corregidor" during their imprisonment by the Japanese, and Colonel William S. Taylor, Program Manager Multiple Launch Rocket System. Among notable civilian recipients are Harry L. Hopkins , Robert S. McNamara and Henry L. Stimson . Samuel W. Koster received a DSM, but this was rescinded due to his involvement in covering up
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#1732780358539252-547: The President to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army shall hereafter distinguish himself or herself, or who, since 04-06-1917, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility in time of war or in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United States." The Act of Congress on July 9, 1918, recognized
273-813: The Soviet Blockade of Berlin, which was imposed in June 1948. Gen. Clay triggered the Berlin Airlift, which served the city residents during the harsh winter of 1948–1949. He is also a recipient of the Legion of Merit. General Norman Schwarzkopf received two awards of the Army DSM and one award each of the Defense DSM, Navy DSM, the Air Force DSM and the Coast Guard DSM, for a total of six DSMs. General Lloyd Austin received four awards of
294-406: The express approval of the president in each case. The Distinguished Service Medal was authorized by Presidential Order dated January 2, 1918, and confirmed by Congress on July 9, 1918. It was announced by War Department General Order No. 6, 1918-01-12, with the following information concerning the medal: "A bronze medal of appropriate design and a ribbon to be worn in lieu thereof, to be awarded by
315-618: The first B-29 Superfortress attack upon Tokyo during World War II after the 1942 Doolittle Raid. Another early recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal was Major General Osmond J. Ritland , USAF, who received his medal on November 30, 1965, upon his retirement. Additional awards are denoted with oak leaf clusters . This award is comparable to the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service given to civilian employees of
336-443: The need for different types and degrees of heroism and meritorious service and included such provisions for award criteria. The current statutory authorization for the Distinguished Service Medal is Title 10 , United States Code , Section 3743. More than 2,000 awards were made during World War I, and by the time the United States entered World War II, approximately 2,800 awards had been made. From July 1, 1941, to June 6, 1969, when
357-574: The rank of brigadier general were fairly common but became rare once the Legion of Merit was established in 1942. Until the first award of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal in 1965, United States Air Force personnel received this award as well, as was the case with several other Department of the Army decorations until the Department of the Air Force fully established its own system of decorations. Because
378-587: The record for receiving the greatest number of awards of the Army Distinguished Service Medal, at six. He also received three awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal as well as one award each of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal , the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal , and the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal , for a total of twelve Distinguished Service Medals. Generals of
399-567: The requirements for the Distinguished Service Medal are interpreted more liberally when awarded upon retirement. As a result, it is the typical decoration for a retiring brigadier general , and in recent years it has also been awarded to the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force upon retirement. Cases of the award of this decoration to an individual who was not a general officer , or the Chief Master Sergeant of
420-512: The roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense . Each of the five subtitles deals with a separate aspect or component of the armed services. The current Title 10 was the result of an overhaul and renumbering of the former Title 10 and Title 34 into one title by an act of Congress on August 10, 1956. Title 32 outlines the related but different legal basis for
441-546: The term "duty of a great responsibility" applies to a narrower range of positions than in time of war and requires evidence of a conspicuously significant achievement. However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of high positions of great importance. Awards may be made to persons other than members of the Armed Forces of the United States for wartime services only, and only then under exceptional circumstances with
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