The National Order of the Legion of Honour, formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour, is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil, and currently comprises five classes. Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it has been retained by all later French governments and regimes.
The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers who served in the Continental Army.
The Croix de Guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts; the croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures was established in 1921 for these. The Croix de Guerre was also commonly bestowed on foreign military forces allied to France.
Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. was a career officer in the United States Army. One of the few black officers in an era when American society was largely segregated, in 1940 he was promoted to brigadier general, the army's first African American general officer.
Eugene Jacques Bullard was one of the first African-American military pilots, although Bullard flew for France, not the United States. Bullard was one of the few black combat pilots during World War I, along with William Robinson Clarke, a Jamaican who flew for the Royal Flying Corps, Domenico Mondelli from Italy, and Ahmet Ali Çelikten of the Ottoman Empire. Also a boxer and a jazz musician, he was called "L'Hirondelle noire" in French.
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted of commissioned officers of the Regular or Volunteer Army, U.S. Navy, or U.S. Marine Corps who served during the American Civil War, or who had served and thereafter been commissioned and who thereby "had aided in maintaining the honor, integrity, and supremacy of the national movement" during the Civil War.
A rosette is a small, circular device that is typically presented with a medal. The rosettes are either worn on the medal to denote a higher rank, or for situations where wearing the medal is deemed inappropriate, such as on a suit. Rosettes are issued to those awarded a knighthood or damehood in a chivalric order, as well as state orders in nations such as Belgium, France, Italy and Japan, among others. Certain hereditary societies, such as the Society of Descendants of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, as well as some fraternal orders issue rosettes to their members as well.
In the military, a brevet is a warrant that gives a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward, but which may not confer the authority and privileges of real rank.
Charles Egbert Stanton was an officer in the United States Army, and attained the rank of colonel. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, he served as chief disbursing officer and aide to General John J. Pershing during World War I. He is best known for having included the memorable expression "Lafayette, we are here!" in a speech he gave in Paris during the First World War.
Ulysses Simpson Grant III was a United States Army officer and planner. He was the son of Frederick Dent Grant, and the grandson of General of the Army and American President Ulysses S. Grant.
A colonel in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force, is the most senior field-grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general. Colonel is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. By law, an officer previously required at least 22 years of cumulative service and a minimum of three years as a lieutenant colonel before being promoted to colonel. With the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, military services now have the authorization to directly commission new officers up to the rank of colonel. The pay grade for colonel is O-6.
The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system. The order is awarded for meritorious service to the sovereign of Belgium, and as a token of his personal goodwill. It can be awarded to both Belgians and foreigners, and is seen as diplomatic gift of merit.
The Military Order of the Carabao is a social club open to officers of the U.S. military and war correspondents who served in the Philippines or on overseas official military campaigns. The order was initially created to satirize the pompous and pretentious Military Order of the Dragon. Descendants of those eligible for membership are themselves eligible, regardless of military service. As of 2016 the annual dues were US$50.
The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Membership is composed of active duty, reserve and retired officers of the United States Armed Services, including the Coast Guard, National Guard, and allied officers, and their descendants, who have served during one of the wars in which the United States has or is engaged with a foreign power.
Asa Bird Gardiner was a controversial American soldier, attorney, and district attorney for New York County from 1898 to 1900.
Lieutenant Colonel Georges Thenault was the commander of the Lafayette Escadrille – the famed branch of the French air force in World War I composed of American volunteer pilots. The Lafayette Escadrille was created before the United States gave up its neutrality and joined France and Britain in the war against Germany. Once the United States formally entered the war, the Lafayette Escadrille was absorbed into the U.S. Army.
The Military Order of the Dragon was an exclusive fraternal order founded in 1900 by members of the China Relief Expedition, a U.S. military force that participated in the Boxer Rebellion in Imperial China.
The Naval and Military Order of the Spanish War was a short lived military society formed by American officers who had served during the Spanish–American War.
The Order of the Indian Wars of the United States (OIWUS) is a military society founded in 1896 by officers of the United States Army who served in campaigns against Native Americans from the American Revolution to the late 19th century.
Edgar Erskine Hume CBE FRSE MD was an American physician, Major General in the U.S. Army medical corps, writer and amateur ornithologist. At the time of his retirement from the Army he was the most decorated medical officer in American history.
