bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Dead > Roster Addenda > Awards for Valor, © 2025 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated 25 Apr 2025.

​Top United States Military Awards for Valor

 The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest military award. There were 473 awards for WWII service, some retroactive. 

Roster member known to have received a Congressional Medal of Honor.
  • Dale Christensen of Gray in Audubon County posthumously won the Congressional Medal of Honor while serving with the 112th Cavalry Regiment on New Guinea.

Next in order are the Distinguished Service Cross (awarded by the Army) and the Navy Cross (awarded by the Navy/Marine Corps). In WWII, according to homeofheroes.com, the War Department gave out over 5,000 Distinguished Service Cross awards with the recipients distributed thusly:
  • 3,984 Army
  • 762  Army Air Corps
  • 31 Marine Corps
  • 21 Navy
  • 258 Foreign Service Members
  • 3 Civilian
while the Navy Department gave out nearly 4,000 Navy Crosses with recipients distributed as shown:
  • Navy - 2,889
  • Marine Corps - 1,030
  • Coast Guard - 6
  • Army - 4
  • Air Force - 10
  • Civilian - 1
  • Foreign Nationals - 19

Roster members known to have received a Distinguished Service Cross or Navy Cross:  None survived WWII.
  • ​Deffenbaugh, Lyle Joseph, US Army, Council Bluffs (Italy - CO, 1st Bn., 6th Armored Inf. Regt., 1st Armored Div.)
  • ​Isbell, Arnold Jay, US Navy, Harrison Co. & District of Columbia, for success in anti-submarine warfare while commanding the USS Card in the Central Atlantic
  • Lee, Delbert Donald, US Army, Anita, Cass Co. (Luxembourg - Co. A, 610th Tank Destroyer Bn., attached to 80th Inf. Div.)
  • Maassen, Dale George, US Marine Corps, Avoca, Pott. Co. (New Georgia, Solomon Is. - 4th Marine Raider Bn.)
  • Wilson, Joseph Francis, US Army, Council Bluffs (Alsace, France - Co. M, 30th Inf. Regt., 3rd Inf. Div.​

Next is the Silver Star, awarded in WWII by all services. The US Army alone awarded nearly 100,000 Silver Stars during WWII. There is no known list of recipients, although a partial list is available at homeofheroes.com; see the source below.

Here is my list of WWII Dead roster members known to have received a Silver Star:
  • Boye, Harold Christian, US Army - Audubon, Audubon Co. (Opheusden, Neder-Betuwe Municipality, NW of Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands - Co. A, 506th Parachute Inf. Regt., 101st Airborne Div.)
  • Braden, Clyde E., US Army, Montgomery Co. (near Ormont, NW of Prüm, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany - 346th Inf. Regt., 87th Inf. Div., VIII Corps, Third Army)
  • Christensen, Jack Newton
  • Comley, George K.
  • Crane, Clell Carl, US Army - received Silver Star for actions in Operation Queen near Linnich in North Rhine Westphalia on 19 Nov 1944; KIA three days later.
  • Crook, Lyle William
  • Deffenbaugh, Lyle Joseph, US Army, Council Bluffs  (Tunisia, KIA later in Italy - CO, 1st Bn., 6th Armored Inf. Regt., 1st Armored Div.)
  • Frahm, Leonard Carl, US Army, Shelby Co. (Boppard, S of Coblenz, Rhineland, Germany - 347th Inf. Regt., 87th Inf. Div., Third Army)
  • Herrell, George Walter, US Army, Omaha (Fritzlar, Germany - 60th Armored Inf. Bn., 9th Armored Div.)
  • Hiley, Dean Anderson, US Army, Glenwood, Mills Co. (Rapido River, Lazio, Italy - 141st Inf. Regt., 36th Inf. Div., Fifth Army)
  • Jensen, Charles Eugene, US Marine Corps, Council Bluffs (Saipan, Mariana Is. - Co. C, 2nd Amphibian Tractor Bn, 2nd Marine Div.) 
  • Joens, Harold Martin, US Army - 104th Inf. Div.
  • Metheny, Hershel Alfred, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • ​Nielsen, Nis, US Army, Harlan, Shelby Co. (14 December 1944, one mile S of Riquewihr, Alsace, France - Co. A, 111th Engineer Combat Bn., 36th Inf. Div., Seventh Army)
  • Pagh, Amos Christian, US Army, Council Bluffs and Omaha (Alsace, France - 397th Inf. Regt., 100th Inf. Div., Seventh Army)
  • Pedersen, Silas Clyde, US Army, Audubon Co. (
  • Plagge, Harold W., US Army, Lake Co., IL, wife from Oakland, Pott. Co. (near Ste.-Mere Eglise, Normandy, France - Co. C, 746th Tank Bn., attached to 82nd Airborne Div., First Army)
  • Shadden, Everett Wilbur, US Army, Los Angeles, CA (Normandy, France - Det. 7, 166th Signal Photo Co.)
  • Wilson, Dallas Arnold, US Army, Harrison Co. (Okinawa - Co. K, 305th Inf. Regt., 77th Inf. Div.)
  • Zangerle, John Mathew, US Army, Shelby & Dubuque Cos. (Manila, Luzon, Philippines, 129th Inf. Regt., 37th Inf. Div.)
Some on this incomplete list may have been nominated but not received the award.
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Sources for Big Pigeon's Awards for Valor webpage: