The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force.SECNAVYINST 2006, 1650.1H, P. 2--22&23 The medal is equivalent to the Army's Distinguished Service Cross, the Air Force and Space Force's Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross.
The Navy Cross is bestowed by the Secretary of the Navy and may also be awarded to members of the other armed services, and to foreign military personnel while serving with the U.S. naval services.
The Navy Cross was established by Act of Congress (Public Law 65-253) and approved on February 4, 1919.
History
The Navy Cross was instituted in part due to the entrance of the United States into World War I.
Many European nations had the custom of decorating heroes from other nations, but the Medal of Honor was the sole U.S. award for valor at the time.
The Army instituted the Distinguished Service Cross and Distinguished Service Medal in 1918, while the Navy followed suit in 1919, retroactive to 6 April 1917.
Originally, the Navy Cross was lower in precedence than the Medal of Honor and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, because it was awarded for both combat heroism and for "other distinguished service".
Congress revised this on 7 August 1942, making the Navy Cross a combat-only decoration that follows the Medal of Honor in order of precedence.
Since the medal was established, it has been awarded more than 6,300 times.
It was designed by James Earle Fraser.
Since the 11 September attacks the Navy Cross has been awarded 47 times, with two of them having the name of the recipient held in secret.
One of those secret awardings was due to Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tate Jolly's  actions during the 2012 Benghazi attack.
<br/> Criteria
The Navy Cross may be awarded to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces while serving with the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard (when a part of the Department of the Navy) who distinguishes themselves in action by extraordinary heroism not justifying an award of the Medal of Honor.
The action must take place under one of three circumstances:
In combat action while engaged against an enemy of the United States; or,
In combat action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or,
In combat action while serving with friendly foreign forces, who are engaged in armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
The act(s) to be commended must be performed in the presence of great danger, or at great personal risk, and must be performed in such a manner as to render the individual's action(s) highly conspicuous among others of equal grade, rate, experience, or position of responsibility.
An accumulation of minor acts of heroism does not justify an award of the Navy Cross.
As originally authorized, the Navy Cross could be awarded for distinguished non-combat acts, but legislation of 7 August 1942 limited the award to acts of combat heroism.
Wear
The Navy Cross originally was the Navy's third-highest decoration, after the Medal of Honor and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
On 7 August 1942, Congress revised the order of precedence, placing the Navy Cross above the Distinguished Service Medal in precedence.
Since that time, the Navy Cross has been worn after the Medal of Honor and before all other awards.
Additional awards of the Navy Cross are denoted by gold or silver  inch stars affixed to the suspension and service ribbon of the medal.
A gold star would be issued for each of the second through fifth awards, to be replaced by a silver star which would indicate a sixth award.
To date no one has received more than five awards.
Description and symbolism
; Medal Obverse:
The medal is a modified cross pattée one and a half inches wide.
The ends of its arms are rounded whereas a conventional cross patée has arms that are straight on the end.
There are four laurel leaves with berries in each of the re-entrant arms of the cross.
In the center of the cross, a sailing vessel is depicted on waves, sailing to the viewer's left.
The vessel is a symbolic caravel of the type used between 1480 and 1500.
Fraser selected the caravel because it was a symbol often used by the Naval Academy and because it represented both naval service and the tradition of the sea.
The laurel leaves with berries refer to achievement.
Reverse:
In the center of the medal, a bronze cross pattée, one and a half inches wide, are crossed anchors from the pre-1850 period, with cables attached.
The letters USN are evident amid the anchors.
The earliest version of the Navy Cross (1919–1928) featured a more narrow strip of white, while the so-called "Black Widow" medals awarded from 1941 to 1942 were notable for the dark color due to over-anodized finish.
The medal is similar in appearance to the British Distinguished Service Cross.
; Service Ribbon The service ribbon is navy blue with a center stripe of white identical to the suspension ribbon of the medal.
The blue alludes to naval service; the white represents the purity of selflessness.
Notable recipients
United States Navy
James Thomas Alexander, Captain, 37th Naval Governor of Guam
Adelbert Althouse, 27th and 29th Naval Governor of Guam
Jackson D. Arnold
Barry K. Atkins
William B. Ault
Bernard L. Austin, Vice admiral (two awards)
John Arnold Austin, namesake of
Matthew Axelson
Edward L. Beach Jr.
Richard Halsey Best
Claude C. Bloch
John Bradley
William F. Bringle
Robert P. Briscoe
William H. Brockman Jr.
Lieutenant Commander
Phil H. Bucklew (two awards)
John D. Bulkeley (plus MOH and 2 Army DSCs)
Arleigh A. Burke
Richard E. Byrd (plus MOH)
Robert Carney
Charles P. Cecil (two awards), namesake of
Gordon Pai'ea Chung-Hoon
Bernard A. Clarey (three awards)
George Thomas Coker
James J. Connell
Richard L. Conolly
Walter W. Coolbaugh, namesake of
Ralph W. Cousins
William P. Cronan, 19th Naval Governor of Guam
William Michael Crose, 7th Governor of American Samoa
Randy "Duke" Cunningham
Winfield Scott Cunningham
Maurice E. Curts
Slade Cutter (four awards)
Roy M. Davenport (5 awards, World War II)
Albert David (two awards, plus MOH)
Arthur C. Davis, Admiral (three awards)
Samuel David Dealey (4 awards and Army DSC and MOH)
James Charles Dempsey, Rear Admiral (2 awards)
Dieter Dengler
Clarence E. Dickinson Lieutenant (three awards)
Danny Dietz
Glynn R. "Donc" Donaho (four awards)
Mark L. Donald, Navy SEAL, medical officer
William P. Driscoll
Thomas M. Dykers,  Rear admiral (two awards)
Laurance T. DuBose, Admiral (three awards)
Thomas Eadie Lieutenant (two awards and MOH)
Richard S. Edwards
Joseph F. Enright
Harry D. Felt
William Charles Fitzgerald namesake of
Eugene B. Fluckey (4 awards and MOH)
Luis Fonseca, hospital corpsman
James Shepherd Freeman
Neldon Theo French namesake of
Ignatius J. Galantin
William Gilmer, 22nd and 24th Naval Governor of Guam
Robert Halperin
William Halsey, Jr., Fleet admiral, commanded Third Fleet 1943-1945
Robert W. Hayler (three awards), namesake of
Arthur Ray Hawkins (three awards)
Henry Kent Hewitt (two awards)
Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee (first female recipient), namesake of
William A. Hodgman, 23rd Naval Governor of Guam
Gilbert C. Hoover, (3 awards)
John Howard Hoover
Frederick J. Horne
John Howard
Royal E. Ingersoll
Jonas H. Ingram (MOH)
Richard H. Jackson
Edward C. Kalbfus
Draper Kauffman (two awards)
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Ernest J. King, Fleet admiral, 9th Chief of Naval Operations
Thomas B. Klakring (three awards)
Norman Jack "Dusty" Kleiss (1942, Divebomber pilot)
Hugo W. Koehler
Edmond Konrad (two awards)
George Landenberger, 23rd Governor of American Samoa
John H. Lang
Harris Laning
William D. Leahy (Fleet Admiral)
Gatewood Lincoln, 22nd Governor of American Samoa
Elliott Loughlin (two awards)
Marcus Luttrell
Harold John Mack
John S. McCain Sr.
David McCampbell (plus MOH)
Benjamin McCandlish, Commodore, 36th Naval Governor of Guam.
Pete McCloskey
John McCloy (also two awards of the Medal of Honor)
C. Wade McClusky
Donald L. McFaul
Luke McNamee, Admiral, 10th and 12th Naval Governor of Guam, and 21st Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence.
Doris "Dorie" Miller (first African American recipient)
Marc Mitscher (three awards)
John Anderson Moore (three awards)
Dudley W. "Mush" Morton (four awards)
Jesse W. Naul Jr. (plus two DFC & 4 AM)
Louis McCoy Nulton
Edward "Butch" O'Hare (plus MOH)
Richard H. "Dick" O'Kane (three awards, plus MOH)
Chick Parsons (two awards)
Edwin Taylor Pollock
John Martin Poyer, 12th Governor of American Samoa
Lawson P. Ramage (two awards plus MOH)
DeWitt Clinton Ramsey
Joseph M. Reeves
George S. Rentz, Chaplain, namesake of USS Rentz (FFG-46)
Frederick Lois Riefkohl
Samuel B. Roberts
Samuel Robison
Dean Rockwell
Maurice H. Rindskopf
Tony F. Schneider (two awards)University of New Mexico NROTC Sun Line Vol.IV No.1 November 1965
Frank Herman Schofield
David F. Sellers
Benedict J. Semmes, Jr., Vice Admiral
Forrest P. Sherman
Rodger W. Simpson (two awards)
Harold Page Smith
Charles P. Snyder
Raymond A. Spruance
David S. Stear
Giles C. Stedman
George L. Street, III (plus MOH)
Felix Stump (two awards)
John Thach (two awards)
Robert J. Thomas
John H. Towers
Richmond K. Turner
Frank B. Upham
Stanley W. Vejtasa, U.S. Navy ace (three awards)
Corydon M. Wassell
Ivan Wettengel, 25th Naval Governor of Guam
James E. Williams, plus MOH and 2 Silver Stars
Adam Williams (actor, awarded as Adam William Berg)
Harry E. Yarnell
United States Marine Corps
Robert H. Barrow (plus an Army DSC)
John Basilone (plus MOH)
Victor Bleasdale (two awards plus an Army DSC)
John F. Bolt
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (plus MOH)
Martin Brandtner (two awards)
James Carson Breckinridge
Marion Eugene Carl (two awards)
Evans Carlson (three awards)
Clifton B. Cates (plus two awards Army DSC)
Brian Chontosh
George R. Christmas
Julius Cogswell (plus Army DSC)
Alfred A. Cunningham
William H. Dabney
Joseph W. Dailey
Daniel Daly (plus two awards MOH, and an Army DSC)
Ray Davis (plus MOH)
James Devereux
William A. Eddy
Merritt A. Edson (two awards plus MOH)
Raymond Frybarger, Jr.
Namesake of the
Guy Gabaldon
Roy Geiger (two awards)
Herman H. Hanneken (two awards plus MOH)
Robert M. Hanson (plus MOH
Myron Harrington, Jr.
Leo D. Hermle (plus an Army DSC)
Thomas Holcomb
Edward Buist Hope (plus Army DSC)
Henry L. Hulbert (plus MOH, and an Army DSC)
Bradley Kasal
Treddy Ketcham
Victor H. Krulak
Henry Louis Larsen (two awards)
Kurt Chew-Een Lee
Justin LeHew
William K. MacNulty
Victor Maghakian
William Edward Campbell March
Karl Marlantes
John McNulty (U.S. Marine Corps) (plus an Army DSC)
Raymond Murray (two awards plus an Army DSC)
Peter J. Ortiz (two awards)
Rafael Peralta
Edwin A. Pollock
Lewis "Chesty" Puller, US Marine Corps (5 awards and Army DSC)
Paul A. Putnam
John H. Quick (plus MOH, and an Army DSC)
Kenneth L. Reusser (two awards)
John Ripley
Harold C. Roberts (three awards)
Ford O. Rogers
James Roosevelt
William H. Rupertus
John H. Russell, Jr.
Al Schmid
Harry Schmidt
Harold G. Schrier (flag raiser on Iwo Jima)
Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. (plus an Army DSC)
Robert Taplett
Alexander Vandegrift (plus MOH)
Lew Walt (two awards)
Jim Webb
John H. Yancey (two awards)
George Yarborough (namesake of )
Jeremiah Workman
United States Army
Stephen J. Chamberlin
Rex T. Barber
Thomas George Lanphier, Jr.
John W. Mitchell
John U.D. Page
United States Coast Guard
Frederick C. BillardLarzelere, pp 178–179
Raymond Evans
Elmer Fowler Stone
Philip F. Roach
Non-U.S. recipients
Nikolai Basistiy, Soviet Union (1943).
Gordon Bridson, New Zealand (1943)Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Bridson bio notesDear, pp 46–47
Ernesto Burzagli, Italy (1919)
Harold Farncomb, Australia (1945)Australian Dictionary of Biography: Farncomb bio notes
Donald Gilbert Kennedy of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force and Coastwatcher during the Guadalcanal Campaign (World War II).
Israel Fisanovich, Soviet Union (1944), Soviet Navy submarine commander
George Victor Jmaeff, Canada (1969), posthumous
Émile Henry Muselier, France (1919)
Peter Phipps, New Zealand (1943)Royal New Zealand Navy: Phipps bio notes
Ronald Niel Stuart, first Royal Navy officer to receive both the American Navy Cross and the British Victoria CrossSnelling, Stephen.
(2002).
The Naval VCs, p. 142.
Tran Van Bay, South Vietnam (1967), posthumous
Nguyen Van Kiet, South Vietnam (1972)
, Soviet Union (1944), Soviet Navy submarine commander
See also
Military awards and decorations
Military awards of the United States Department of the Navy
List of recipients of the Navy Cross in the Vietnam War
Notes
References
Further reading
SECNAVINST 1650.1H 2006 2–22 Page 57
External links
Navy Cross – Criteria, Background, and Images
* Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Marine Corps Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Navy Category:Awards established in 1919 Category:Courage awards Category:Works by James Earle Fraser (sculptor)
