• Source: War Merit Cross (Italy)

The War Merit Cross (Italian: Croce al Merito di Guerra) is an Italian military decoration. It was instituted by King Victor Emmanuel III during World War I on 19 January 1918. The award received major changes during World War II and currently is issued by the Italian Republic as well.




Eligibility


The Italian War Merit Cross was awarded to members of the armed forces with a minimum of one year's service in contact with an enemy, or who received the Medal of the Wounded, or to those who, when mentioned for war merit, received a promotion. Also, if an act of valour was deemed insufficient for the Medal of Military Valor, the War Merit Cross could be awarded instead; from 1922 onwards a bronze sword on the ribbon showed this class of award.
From its institution until 30 May 1927, 1,034,924 Crosses were issued.




Design



The War Merit Cross was in bronze, 38mm wide (1-1/2 inches). The reverse side bears a 5-pointed star on a background of rays. The obverse has the royal cypher ("VE III" under a crown) in the upper arm, "MERITO DI GVERRA" (War Merit) on the horizontal arms and a Roman sword point upwards, on oak leaves, in the lower arm. The ribbon is blue with white stripes. While the latter originally were five, within months they were reduced to two white stripes. Successive awards, three awardings per person being the maximum, were indicated by one or two bronze royal crowns. During World War II, the War Merit Cross underwent a number of significant changes. The number of awards was limited to ten, indicated by a combination of bronze, silver and gold crowns. The medal received another change under the Italian Republic in 1947, the royal cypher being replaced by the intertwined letters "RI" for Repubblica Italiana. Limited to three awardings once again, with one cross or bar for every war allowed, multiple awards were shown by bronze stars. In the current form multiple awards are shown by silver stars.




Notable recipients



Robert L. Blackwell, Private, US Army, MoH
Tasker H. Bliss, General, US Army
Inigo Campioni. Lieutenant Commander (later Admiral), Italian Navy
Evans Carlson, Brigadier General, US Marines, leader of Carlson's Raiders
Giuseppe Cirrincione, Maresciallo Dell'aeronautica
William Alexander Cunningham, Captain 321st Battalion US Army, Awarded January 19, 1918, n205
William J. Donovan, Major General, US Army, MoH
Gino De Giorgi (twice), Admiral, Italian Navy
Ernest Hemingway
Richmond H. Hilton, Sergeant, US Army, MoH
Edouard Izac, Lieutenant, US Navy, MoH, Representative from California
Clayton P. Kerr, United States Army Major General and member of Allied Mission to Italian Army in World War II
Frank Luke, Jr., Second Lieutenant, US Army Air Service, MoH
Douglas MacArthur, General, US Army, MoH
Richard W. O'Neill, 2nd Lieutenant, US Army, MoH
Carioti Quinto, Private, Italian Army
Thomas Sheppard, British Army officer
Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Czechoslovak general
Sebastiano Visconti Prasca, General, Italian Army
George H. Weems, United States Army Brigadier General, DSC
Alvin York, Sergeant, US Army, MoH




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Italo Balbo
• Indro Montanelli
• Günther d'Alquen
• Galeazzo Ciano
• Gianni Agnelli
• Pietro Badoglio
• Benito Mussolini
• Władysław Anders
• George S. Patton
• Robert L. Eichelberger
• War Merit Cross (Italy)
• War Merit Cross (disambiguation)
• Ettore Bastico
• Julius Ochs Adler
• Achille Starace
• Victor Emmanuel III
• Jan Syrový
• Ugo Cavallero
• War Cross
• Italo Balbo