2 Medals of honour?

[Chris Boonzaier]

Am I right in undestanding he got 2 medals for the same action?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Pruitt

Best

Chris

[Dave Danner]

Yes.

Before 1947, the Army and the Navy were completely separate services, under different Cabinet departments, and tended to do their own things.

In World War I, a brigade of Marines was attached to the Army as part of the 2nd Division, and the Army awarded its decorations to Marines in this brigade. In most cases, the Navy then responded by also awarding its equivalent decoration.

So of the six Marines awarded the Army Medal of Honor, five also received the Navy version. One Navy medical officer attached to the Marines received the Navy Medal of Honor for the same action for which the Army had awarded him the Army Distinguished Service Cross. Seventeen Navy men (8 medical officers, 8 corpsmen and 1 chaplain) and 326 Marines who received the Army Distinguished Service Cross also were given the Navy Cross for the same action.

[Paul R]

Very interesting... I never knew that awards were issued in this manner. So in WW2, it was still possible for men to receive double recognition if they were assigned to different branches(Army and Navy) of service(Army working with the Marines) and etc.

Have there ever been any recipients of the Navy Cross and DSC in this manner?

[Dave Danner]

I don't have any references at hand, but I am pretty sure that some time in the 1920s or 1930s the Army and Navy came to an agreement to avoid duplicate awards, so I don't think there are any cases after World War I of this.

The two services still had their differences, though. The Purple Heart, for example, was created by the War Department in 1932, so it was an Army-only award until 1942, when President Roosevelt by Executive Order extended it to the Navy and Marine Corps. And while the Army's DSC was always a valor award and was second to the Medal of Honor, until 1942, the Navy Cross could be awarded for non-combat heroism (for example lifesaving at sea, including awards to rescue divers) and ranked after the Navy DSM. The Army had created the Soldier's Medal for non-combat heroism in 1926, but the Navy did no create its Navy and Marine Corps Medal until 1942.

[Harvey]

The only legitimate awarding of two Medals of Honor for completely separate actions were to SgtMaj Dan Daly, USMC (Boxer Rebellion, China and Haiti) and BGen Smedley D. Butler, USMC (Veracruz, Mexico and Haiti).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Daly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler

[Dave Danner]

The only legitimate awarding of two Medals of Honor for completely separate actions were to SgtMaj Dan Daly, USMC (Boxer Rebellion, China and Haiti) and BGen Smedley D. Butler, USMC (Veracruz, Mexico and Haiti).

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Daniel_Daly

http://en.wikipedia..../Smedley_Butler

There are actually three, not counting 19th century awards pre-dating the modern awards system.

Besides Daly and Butler, the other was John McCloy from the Navy. McCloy's first Medal of Honor was awarded during the Boxer Rebellion, like Daly's first, and his second for Vera Cruz, like Butler's first.

Interestingly, Butler also distinguished himself in the Boxer Rebellion, but as an officer, he was not eligible for the Medal of Honor. At the time, the Navy did not award the Medal of Honor to officers. Instead, he received a brevet promotion. Later, he was awarded the Brevet Medal, created to recognize those who were given brevet promotions for valor.

Two other Marine officers received a brevet promotion for valor (and later a Brevet Medal) and later earned the Medal of Honor. Were they enlisted men, their actions for which they were brevetted would probably have earned them the Medal of Honor, so they probably deserve to be mentioned with Butler, Daly and McCloy.

First was Wendell C. Neville, later 14th Commandant of the Marine Corps, who earned a brevet promotion for valor in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and the Medal of Honor in Vera Cruz. Second was David Dixon Porter, who earned a brevet promotion for valor in the Philippines in 1899 and the Medal of Honor in the Philippines in 1901.