Gold Medal of Military Valor

Gold Medal of Military Valor


Gold Medal of Military Valor
Medaglia d'oro al valor militare
Medaglia d'oro al valor militare.svg
Italy's Gold Medal of Military Valor
Country Italy
Type Military decoration
Eligibility Junior officers and soldiers
Awarded for Deeds of outstanding gallantry in war
Statistics
Established 21 May 1793
Valor militare gold medal BAR.svg
Ribbon bar of the medal

The Gold Medal of Military Valor (Italian: Medaglia d'oro al Valore Militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" (for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers).

The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag decoration and the words "al valore" (for valor).

On 14 August 1815, Victor Emanuel I of Sardinia replaced it with the Military Order of Savoy ("l'Ordine militare di Savoia"), now known as the Military Order of Italy.

Charles Albert of Sardinia revived it on March 26, 1833, and added to it the Silver and Bronze medals. These had, on their faces, the coat of arms of Savoy with laurel branches, the royal crown, and the words "al valor militare" (for military valor). On the reverse were two laurel branches enclosing the name of the decorated soldier, and the place and date of the action.

With the proclamation of the Republic on June 2, 1946, the coat of arms of Savoy was replaced with the emblem of the Italian Republic.[1]

For actions performed by individuals during World War I, the Gold Medal was awarded some 368 times, as well as 37 times to military units, and once to the Unknown Soldier. Only four of the individual awards went to foreigners, one of these being Czar Nicholas II of Russia. The other three were for acts of gallantry in which the recipient was killed in action or died from his injuries (the Frenchmen John O'Byrne and Roland Morillot, and the American Coleman deWitt). [2] The Gold Medal of Military Valor was one of the most parsimoniously awarded medals of World War I, granted less frequently than even the Victoria Cross (which was awarded 628 times). [3]

The Gold Medal for Military Valor is still awarded by the Italian state, and it, along with Silver and Bronze medals for Military Valor as well as the "Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare" (War Cross of Military Valor - which can only be awarded in time of war) is established by the Royal Decree of 4 November 1932, in which the purpose of these medals is defined as "To distinguish and publicly honor the authors of heroic military acts, even ones performed in time of peace, provided that the exploit is closely connected with the purposes for which the Armed Forces are constituted, whatever may be the condition or quality of the author." [4]


Notable recipients

See also

References

  1. ^ Preceding paragraphs translated and adapted from http://bibliogo.ccm.it/index.php?page=View.DocDetail&id=742193 which describes the book "Le medaglie d'oro al valor militare: volume primo, Roma, [Gruppo Medaglie d'Oro al Valor Militare d'Italia], 1965, 804 p.; 22 cm"
  2. ^ The website of the Italian Presidency: List of all recipients can be obtained by going to http://www.quirinale.it/elementi/onorificenze.aspx, going to "onorificenza" (under "Maschera di recerca"), selecting "Medaglia d'oro al valor militare" and pressing "avvia". Also see "Nel 1° Centenario della istituzione della Medaglia al Valor Militare" edizione del 1933 dell' Ufficio storico dell' esercito
  3. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_First_World_War_Victoria_Cross_recipients
  4. ^ official website of the Italian Presidency http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/onorificenze/cennistorici/medagliacrocevm.htm


Ceva, Bianca (1964). Cinque anni di storia italiana 1940-1945: da lettere e diari di caduti [Five Years of Italian History 1940 - 1945: Letters and diaries of the fallen]. Edizioni di comunità. pp. 143–144. OCLC 3658871.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Medal of Military Valor — Gold Medal Silver Medal …   Wikipedia

  • Silver Medal of Military Valor — Medaglia d argento al valor militare The Silver Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: Medaglia d Argento al Valore Militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia… …   Wikipedia

  • Bronze Medal of Military Valor — Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare The Bronze Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: Medaglia di bronzo al Valore Militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on March 26, 1833, along with… …   Wikipedia

  • Medal For Military Service to Ukraine — Awarded by …   Wikipedia

  • Military William Order — Militaire Willems Orde Knight Military William Order 4th class medal (post 2000 model) Awarded by …   Wikipedia

  • Military Order of Italy — Republican insignia of a Military Knight Grand Cross Awarded by …   Wikipedia

  • Medal of Honor — For other uses, see Medal of Honor (disambiguation). Medal of Honor From left to right, the Army, Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard, and Air Force medals Awarded by the President in the …   Wikipedia

  • Medal of Valor — The Medal of Valor is a type of medal given to honor military or public safety personnel who have served with gallantry. Contents 1 Medals 2 Other 3 See also 4 References …   Wikipedia

  • Medal of Valor (disambiguation) — The Medal of Valor is a type of medal given to honor military or public safety personnel who have served with gallantry. The Medal of Valor may refer to the:*9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor, awarded by the government of the United States, created… …   Wikipedia

  • Medal of Bravery (Hungary) — Bronze Medal The Hungarian Medal of Bravery (Vitézségi Érem) was a medal given for military bravery or valor. Initially the award was instituted in 1922 in silver only. By 14 April 1939 gold, large silver, small silver and bronze awards were… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”