Marine Corps Brevet Medal

BACK DEVICE(s) none

Description:

1. Authorized Marine Corps Order Number 26, 1921.
2. The decoration was a one-time issuance and retroactively recognized living Marine Corps officers who had received a brevet rank.
3. Brevet promotions were used by the United States military in some capacity from 1775 until they were discontinued in 1900. The Army was the only branch authorized to grant brevets until 1814, when the Marine Corps was granted the same privilege. Over 86 years, the Marine Corps awarded 121 brevet promotions to 100 Marine Corps officers. Captain Anthony Gale was the first to receive a brevet promotion in 1814, and John Twiggs Myers, who died in 1952, was the last surviving recipient.
4. This decoration was justified on the grounds that, until 1915, Marine Corps officers were not eligible for the Medal of Honor.
5. When Marine Corps Order Number 26 was released it stated that the Brevet Medal should rank just behind the campaign medal for which the Brevet Commission was given.
6. Shortly after the inception of the medal, it was elevated to a position just after the Navy's medal for distinguished service, The Navy Cross Medal, although in precedence it ranks just behind the Medal of Honor. Recipients of the medal had received field commissions as Marine Corps officers, under combat conditions, and had performed feats of distinction and gallant service.
7. After the Brevet Medal was approved and created, the decoration was given to the last 20 living Marine Corps officers who received brevet promotions.
8. The Brevet Medal was not authorized to be awarded posthumously.
9. It is one of the rarest U.S. military medals because only 20 were issued and issuance of Brevet Commissions had ceased in 1921.
10. In 1940 the Marine Corps declared the Brevet Medal obsolete; the medal was never issued again.

Background:

1. The Brevet Medal was authorized for issue to any officer holding a brevet commission for distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy during the Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, Philippine Insurrection, and the Boxer Hostilities of 1900.
2. The Medal
   1. OBVERSE
      The medal consists of a bronze cross pattée, with the center of each arm extended in a semi-circular shape and in the center of the front is the word "BREVET", encircled by the words "UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS".
      A small five-pointed star, point-up, is at the bottom center of the circle formed by the inscription.
      A small Marine Corps insignia (eagle, globe and anchor) attaches the medal to its suspension ring.
   2. REVERSE
      The back of the medal is plain except for its center, which contains the inscription "FOR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT" in a circle, and the words "IN PRESENCE OF ENEMY" in the center. The original medals were neither named nor numbered.
   3. RIBBON
      The ribbon is USMC scarlet with 13 white stars in 6 rows (rows are 2,3,2,3,2,1), closely resembling the blue-and-white starred pattern of the Medal of Honor. 
   4. DEVICES
      No attached devices for the Brevet Medal were authorized.
3. Around 1973 the Brevet Medal dies were retired and placed in the custody of the Marine Corps History and Museums Division, and there is no official restrike is contemplated.
4. Information from
   Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual [Rev. 1953]
   Marine Corps Legacy Museum
   The Call of Duty : Military Awards and Decorations of the United States of America by John E. Strandberg