website bigpigeon.us, webpage WW II Dead > Roster Notes - © 2021 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated 16 Dec 2021.
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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. I know of no one in my roster who received this award.
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 Distinguised Service Cross awards with the recipients distributed thusly:
Roster members known to have received a Distinguised Service Cross. All are posthumous.
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 homeofheroes.com is beginning a partial list.
My very incomplete list of roster members known to have receivd a Silver Star: None survived WWII.
The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest military award. There were 473 awards for WWII service, some retroactive. I know of no one in my roster who received this award.
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 Distinguised 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
- 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 Distinguised Service Cross. All are posthumous.
- Deffenbaugh, Lyle Joseph, Council Bluffs (Italy - CO, 1st Bn., 6th Armored Inf. Regt., 1st Armored Div.)
- Lee, Delbert Donald, Anita, Cass Co. (Luxembourg - Co. A, 610th Tank Destroyer Bn., attached to 80th Inf. Div.)
- Maassen, Dale George, Avoca, Pott. Co. (New Georgia, Solomon Is. - 4th Marine Raider Bn.)
- Wilson, Joseph Francis, 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 homeofheroes.com is beginning a partial list.
My very incomplete list of roster members known to have receivd a Silver Star: None survived WWII.
- Deffenbaugh, Lyle Joseph, Council Bluffs (Tunisia, KIA later in Italy - CO, 1st Bn., 6th Armored Inf. Regt., 1st Armored Div.)
- Herrell, George Walter, Omaha (Fritzlar, Germany - 60th Armored Inf. Bn., 9th Armored Div.)
- Jensen, Charles Eugene, Council Bluffs (Saipan, Mariana Is. - Co. C, 2nd Amphibian Tractor Bn, 2nd Marine Div.)
- Pagh, Amos Christian, Council Bluffs & Omaha (Alsace, France - 397th Inf. Regt., 100th Inf. Div.)
- Shadden, Everett Wilbur, Los Angeles, CA (Normandy, France - Det. 7, 166th Signal Photo Co.)
Sources for the WW II Dead - Roster Notes webpage:
- The webpage header photo, National WW II Memorial, courtesy of https://washington.org/dc-guide-to/national-world-war-ii-memorial.