Merchant_Marine_Distinguished_Service_Medal Knowpia

Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal
	Obverse and reverse of the medal
Type	Individual Award
Awarded for	Outstanding conduct or service in the line of duty.
Presented by	United States Maritime Administration
Eligibility	Merchant Marine seamen
Established	April 11, 1942[1]
Total	152
Total awarded posthumously	30
	Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal ribbon
Precedence
Next (lower)	Merchant Marine Meritorious Service Medal

The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine (USMM). The decoration is the highest award which can be bestowed upon members of that service. It is awarded to any seaman in the USMM who, on or after September 3, 1939, has distinguished himself during the war by outstanding conduct or service in the line of duty. Regulations state that not more than one medal shall be issued to any one seaman, but for each succeeding instance sufficient to justify the award of a medal, there will be awarded a suitable insignia to be worn with the medal.

As the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal is considered a federal service decoration, it may be worn on the uniforms of active, reserve, and retired uniformed service members.

Design notes and description edit

Designed by Paul Manship, subsequent awards of the medal are represented by 5/16th inch gold stars affixed to both the suspension ribbon and the ribbon bar. Original awards have P. M. on the reverse of the suspension device.

The medal is in gold-plate with a diameter of 41.9mm. It is composed of a silver 8-point ball tip star superimposed on a gold compass with a square eagle-anchor suspension device. The ribbon is blue, white, red, white, blue.

Recipients edit

United States Merchant Marine Academy awardees edit

The first medal was awarded to Edwin F. Cheney on October 8, 1942 by Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House with Admiral Emery S. Land as documented by Lowell Thomas in his book These Men Shall Never Die.

Captain Paul Buck
Midshipman Francis A. Dales
Midshipman Elmer C. Donnelly
Midshipman Edwin Joseph O'Hara - awarded posthumously
Midshipman Walter G. Sittmann
Midshipman William M. Thomas, Jr.^[1]
Midshipman Phil Cox Vannais
Midshipman Frederick R. Zito
Midshipman Carl M. Medved
Third Mate Edward Michael Fetherston^[2]
Third Mate Michael J. Hainen, September 1991

SS Mayaguez incident edit

First Officer Clinton Harriman^[3]
Third Officer Karl Lonsdale^[3]
Yeoman Storekeeper Robert Griffin,^[3]
2nd Asst. Engineer Michael Saltwick^[3]
Fireman Watertender Hermino Rivera^[3]
Oiler Epifanio Rodriguez^[3]

In addition, the above six Mariners were also awarded the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award.^[3]

Other awardees edit

Captain Elis R. Johanson
Third Officer Frederick August Larsen Jr.
Chief Engineer Albert M. Boe
Chief Engineer Thomas J. McTaggart
Radio Operator Kenneth W. Maynard
Master Paul H. Browne

References edit

^ "Cadet-Midshipman William M. Thomas Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal". www.usmm.org. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
^ "Merchant Marine Heroes - Citations for Distinguished Service Medal during World War II". www.usmm.org.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Egnor, Russ (September 1975). "Medal Winners". Sealift. XXV (9): 19. Retrieved 25 March 2020.