The Marine Corps Brevet Medal, also known as the Brevet Medal, was a military decoration of the United States Marine Corps; it was created in 1921 as a result of Marine Corps Order Number 26. The decoration was a one-time issuance and retroactively recognized living Marine Corps officers who had received a brevet rank. The similar practice of frocking continues in all six branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Brevet promotions were used by the United States military in some capacity from 1775 until they were discontinued in 1900. The Army was the only branch authorized to grant brevets until 1814, when the Marine Corps was granted the same privilege. Over 86 years, the Marine Corps awarded 121 brevet promotions to 100 Marine Corps officers. Captain Anthony Gale was the first to receive a brevet promotion in 1814, and John Twiggs Myers, who died in 1952, was the last surviving recipient.
In 1921, CommandantJohn A. Lejeune requested that a Marine Corps Brevet Medal be authorized. After it was approved and created, the decoration was given to the last 20 living Marine Corps officers who received brevet promotions.
Brevet promotions
A brevet promotion, or brevet, is the advancement in rank without the advancement in either pay grade or position. Typically, a brevetted officer would be given the insignia of the brevetted rank but not the pay or formal authority. Brevet promotions were originally authorized for the United States Army in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress. In 1778, a resolution was passed stating brevets would only be authorized "..to officers in the line or in case of very eminent services...".[2]
The Marine Corps would not receive the authorization from Congress for brevet promotions until 1814, stating "... That the President is hereby authorized to confer brevet rank on such officers of the Marine Corps as shall distinguish themselves by gallant actions and meritorious conduct or shall have served ten years in any one grade...".[2]
In 1814 Anthony Gale became the first Marine to receive a brevet promotion when he was brevetted to Major, having been a Captain for ten years. By the time the practice of brevet promotions was discontinued in 1900, 121 brevet promotions were bestowed on 100 Marine Corps officers.[2]
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, brevet promotions were common in the United States armed forces. New officers received brevet rank until authorized positions were made available, or they could be brevetted to fill higher positions for gallantry. During the American Civil War, most senior officers received a brevet promotion, particularly during the final months of the war.[3]
Due to the establishment of the Medal of Honor and the change in rules allowing both officers and enlisted to receive it, the need for brevet promotions diminished. During the American Civil War, the Army used the issuing of brevet promotions to such a degree that Congress passed an act in 1869 that restricted the issuance of brevet promotions. The act established three requirements for awarding a brevet: "they could only be awarded in time of war and then only for distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy, and it also removed all privileges of command based upon brevet rank except as directed by the President."[2][4]
In 1870 Congress passed a law stating that no officer could wear, nor be addressed by, their brevet rank making brevet promotions an honorary decoration only.[2] Because of this new law the last nine brevet promotions awarded by the Marine Corps occurred during the Boxer Rebellion. On June 7, 1921, the Secretary of the NavyEdwin Denby approved then-CommandantJohn A. Lejeune's request for a medal denoting the holder of a brevet promotion to be issued. Marine Corps Order #26 was issued on June 27, 1921, authorizing the medal to be ordered and by November 10, 1921, the medals had been created.[2][4] This decoration was justified on the grounds that, until 1915, Marine Corps officers were not eligible for the Medal of Honor.[4]
In 1940 the Marine Corps declared the Brevet Medal obsolete; the medal was never issued again. The concept of brevet commissions was phased out of the United States military, and was replaced by temporary and field promotions, which were awarded more frequently than brevet ranks.[4]
Award of the medal was approved for twenty-three men, three of whom died before they could receive this award. Of the twenty recipients, three were holders of both the Marine Corps Brevet Medal and the Medal of Honor.[4]
Description and symbolism
The Marine Corps Brevet Medal was considered to be the equivalent of the Navy Cross, although in precedence it ranks just behind the Medal of Honor. Recipients of the medal had received field commissions as Marine Corps officers, under combat conditions, and had performed feats of distinction and gallant service. Initially, the Brevet Medal ranked behind the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and was issued to 23 active, retired, and discharged Marine Corps personnel.[4]
The medal was designed by Sergeant Joseph Alfred Burnett and contained a ribbon, in USMC scarlet, closely resembling the blue-and-white starred pattern of the Medal of Honor. No attached devices for the Brevet Medal were authorized.[4]
Front of medal
The medal consists of a bronze cross pattée, with the center of each arm extended in a semi-circular shape and in the center of the front is the word "BREVET", encircled by the words "UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS". A small five-pointed star, point-up, is at the bottom center of the circle formed by the inscription and a small Marine Corps insignia (eagle, globe and anchor) attaches the medal to its suspension ring.[4]
Back of medal
The back of the medal is plain except for its center, which contains the inscription "FOR DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT" in a circle, and the words "IN PRESENCE OF ENEMY" in the center. The original medals were neither named nor numbered.[4]
"For distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy July 13, 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion". One of three to receive both the Brevet Medal and the Medal of Honor. One of nineteen to receive the Medal of Honor twice.
"For distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy during the Philippine Insurrection". One of three to both receive the Brevet Medal and the Medal of Honor.
"For distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy during the Boxer Rebellion" He is the only Marine to have been awarded both the Brevet Medal and the Navy Specially Meritorious Service Medal.
Approved recipients who died before award of the medal
"For gallant and meritorious services at the attack upon Forts Jackson and St. Philip" "For meritorious services in defeating a rebel raid at Gunpowder Bridge" "For gallant and meritorious services in the action with the savages at Formosa"
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight uniformed services of the United States as well as to military and political figures of foreign governments.
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York.
Wendell Cushing Neville was a major general of the Marine Corps as well as a Medal of Honor recipient and the 14th Commandant of the Marine Corps between 1929 and 1930.
Major General David Dixon Porter, a Medal of Honor recipient, was a United States Marine Corps officer who served in the Philippine–American War and in World War I.
John Twiggs Myers was a United States Marine Corps general who was most famous for his service as the American Legation Guard in Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion.
A battlefield promotion is an advancement in military rank that occurs while deployed in combat. A standard field promotion is advancement from current rank to the next higher rank; a "jump-step" promotion allows the recipient to advance by two ranks.
Major General Charles Grant Long was the third assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was also a recipient of the Marine Corps Brevet Medal and Navy Cross.
Philip Michael Bannon was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for his actions during the Spanish–American War.
Percival Clarence Pope was an American officer who served in the United States Marine Corps during the American Civil War. He received the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery.
James Forney was an American officer serving in the United States Marine Corps during the American Civil War. He was approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery but died before it could be presented.
Albert Sidney McLemore was an American officer serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Spanish–American War. He was approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery but died before it could be presented.
Carl Gamborg-Andresen was a Norwegian-born American military officer serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Boxer Rebellion who was one of 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery.
Newt Hamill Hall was an American officer serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Boxer Rebellion who was one of 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1895, and was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1897.
Louis John Magill was an American officer born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Spanish–American War who was one of 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery, but died before it could be presented.
James Edward Mahoney was an American officer born in Peabody, Massachusetts and serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Spanish–American War who was one of 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1881. He subsequently served in Panama, Veracruz, Mexico, and in Cuba. After promotion to temporary rank of Brigadier General, he retired as a Colonel of Marines in 1919.
William Nessler McKelvy Sr. was an American officer born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Spanish–American War who was one of 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1891, and was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1893.
Paul St. Clair Murphy was an American officer serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Spanish–American War. He was one of 23 men to be awarded the Marine Corps Brevet Medal.
William Glasgow Powell was an American officer born in at St. Louis, Missouri and serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Spanish–American War who was one of 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery.
George Richards was an American officer born at Ironton, Ohio, and serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Boxer Rebellion. He was one of 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery.
Melville James Shaw was an American officer born in Minnesota and serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Spanish–American War who was one of only 23 Marine Corps officers approved to receive the Marine Corps Brevet Medal for bravery.
Edward S. Haynes (May 1972). "The United States Marine Corps Brevet Medal and Its Recipients". The Collector. 23 (5).
Specific
↑ Foster, Frank C.; Borts, Lawrence H. (2011). Military medals of the United States (8thed.). Fountain Inn, SC: MOA Press (Medals of America Press). p.59. ISBN9781884452284.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Colonel John H. Magruder III (Spring 1998). "The Brevet in the Marine Corps". Marine Corps Gazette. XXXIX (11). Marine Corps Association.
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