View source for Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)

{{Short description|United States Army military decoration}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Use American English|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox award
| name = U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal
| image = [[File:Army Distinguished Service Medal Obverse.png|125px]]
| caption = 
| presenter = [[United States Department of the Army]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://govdocs.rutgers.edu/mil/army/r600_8_22.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111110243/http://govdocs.rutgers.edu/mil/army/r600_8_22.pdf |archive-date=2018-01-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| type = [[Distinguished service medal]]
| eligibility = United States Army soldiers
| awarded_for = Distinguished themself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility.
| status = Currently awarded
| description = 
| clasps = 
| established = January 2, 1918
| firstawarded = January 12, 1918
| lastawarded = 
| total_awarded = 
| total_awarded_posthumously = 
| total_recipients = 
| individual = 
| higher = Department of Defense: [[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]]<br/>Department of Homeland Security: [[Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal]]
| same = Naval Service: [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]<br/>Air and Space Forces: [[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal]]<br/>Coast Guard: [[Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal]]
| lower = [[Silver Star Medal]]
| image2 = [[File:U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|124px|border]]
| caption2 = [[Service ribbon]]
| reverse = [[File:Army Distinguished Service Medal Reverse.png|100px]]
}}

The '''Distinguished Service Medal''' ('''DSM''')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsDocDetails.aspx?ident_number=8962|title=ASSIST-QuickSearch Document Details|website=quicksearch.dla.mil}}</ref> is a [[Awards and decorations of the United States military|military decoration]] of the [[United States Army]] that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. The exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration.

The Army's Distinguished Service Medal is equivalent to the Naval Service's [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]], Air and Space Forces' [[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]], and the [[Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal]]. Prior to the creation of the Air Force's Distinguished Service Medal in 1960, United States Air Force airmen were awarded the Army's Distinguished Service Medal.

==Description==
*The coat of arms of the United States in Gold surrounded by a circle of Dark Blue enamel, 1 ½ inches in diameter, bearing the inscription "'''FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MCMXVIII'''".
*On the reverse is a scroll for the name of the recipient (which is to be engraved) upon a trophy of flags and weapons. The medal is suspended by a bar attached to the ribbon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Distinguished Service Medal (Army) Heraldry |url=https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=15240&CategoryId=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916175729/https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=15240&CategoryId=3 |archive-date=2023-09-16 |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=[[United States Army Institute of Heraldry]]}}</ref>

===Ribbon===
*The ribbon is {{convert|1+3/8|in|mm}} wide and consists of the following stripes:
#{{convert|5/16|in|mm}} Scarlet 67111;
#{{convert|1/16|in|mm}} Ultramarine Blue 67118;
#{{convert|5/8|in|mm}} White 67101;
#{{convert|1/16|in|mm}} Ultramarine Blue;
#{{convert|5/16|in|mm}} Scarlet.

*Additional awards of the Distinguished Service Medal are denoted by [[oak leaf cluster]]s.

==Criteria==
The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to any person - effectively, general officers - who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Army, has distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility.

The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service which is clearly exceptional. Exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration. For service not related to actual war, the term "duty of a great responsibility" applies to a narrower range of positions than in time of war and requires evidence of a conspicuously significant achievement. However, justification of the award may accrue by virtue of exceptionally meritorious service in a succession of high positions of great importance. Awards may be made to persons other than members of the Armed Forces of the United States for wartime services only, and only then under exceptional circumstances with the express approval of the president in each case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/julqtr/32cfr578.11.htm|title=Distinguished Service Medal.|website=edocket.access.gpo.gov}}</ref>

==Components==
*The following are authorized components of the Distinguished Service Medal and applicable specifications:
#Decoration (regular size): MIL-D-3943/7.
##NSN for decoration set: 8455-00-444-0007.
##NSN for replacement medal is 8455-00-246-3830.
#Decoration (miniature size): MIL-D-3943/7. NSN 8455-00-996-5008.
#Ribbon: MIL-R-11589/52. NSN 8455-00-252-9922.
#Lapel Button (metal replica of ribbon bar): MIL-L-11484/4. NSN 8455-00-253-0809.

==History of the Distinguished Service Medal==
The Distinguished Service Medal was authorized by Presidential Order dated January 2, 1918, and confirmed by Congress on July 9, 1918. It was announced by War Department General Order No. 6, 1918-01-12, with the following information concerning the medal: "A bronze medal of appropriate design and a ribbon to be worn in lieu thereof, to be awarded by the President to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army shall hereafter distinguish himself or herself, or who, since 04-06-1917, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility in time of war or in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United States." The Act of Congress on July 9, 1918, recognized the need for different types and degrees of heroism and meritorious service and included such provisions for award criteria. The current statutory authorization for the Distinguished Service Medal is [[Title 10 of the United States Code|Title 10]], [[United States Code]], Section 3743.<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|10|3743}}</ref>

==Recipients==
{{see also|Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)}}
*Among the first awards of the Distinguished Service Medal for service in World War I, were those to the Commanding Officers of the Allied Armies:
#Marshal [[Ferdinand Foch]]
#Marshal [[Joseph Joffre]]
#General [[Philippe Petain]] of France
#General [[Louis Franchet d'Espèrey]] of France
#General Sir [[Arthur Currie]] of Canada
#General Sir [[John Monash]] of Australia
#Field Marshal [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig]] of Britain
#General [[Armando Diaz]] of Italy
#General [[Cyriaque Gillain]] of Belgium
#General [[John Joseph Pershing]] of the United States
#[[Field marshal (Serbia and Yugoslavia)|Field Marshal]] [[Živojin Mišić]] of Serbia

More than 2,000 awards were made during World War I, and by the time the United States entered World War II, approximately 2,800 awards had been made.  From July 1, 1941, to June 6, 1969, when the Department of the Army stopped publishing awards of the DSM in Department of the Army General Orders, over 2,800 further awards were made.<ref>George H. Apgar (1995), ''Awards of the US Army Distinguished Service Medal 1942-1969'', Planchet Press</ref>

Prior to World War II the DSM was the only decoration for non-combat service in the U.S. Army.  As a result, before World War II the DSM was awarded to a wider range of recipients than during and after World War II.  During World War I awards of the DSM to officers below the rank of brigadier general were fairly common but became rare once the [[Legion of Merit]] was established in 1942.

Until the first award of the [[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal]] in 1965, [[United States Air Force]] personnel received this award as well, as was the case with several other Department of the Army decorations until the Department of the Air Force fully established its own system of decorations.

===Notable recipients===
Because the Army Distinguished Service Medal is principally awarded to general officers, a list of notable recipients would include nearly every general, and some admirals, since 1918, many of whom received multiple awards, as well as a few civilians and sergeants major prominent for their contributions to national defense.

General [[Martin Dempsey]], former [[chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]], holds the record for receiving the greatest number of awards of the Army Distinguished Service Medal, at six. He also received three awards of the [[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]] as well as one award each of the [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]], the [[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal]], and the [[Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal]], for a total of twelve Distinguished Service Medals.

Generals of the Army [[Douglas MacArthur]] and [[Dwight Eisenhower]] are tied with five awards each received of the Army Distinguished Service Medal.  They also each received one award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, for a total of six DSMs each.

General [[Lucius D. Clay]] (Four Star) received three Army DSM awards for his service that included Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces (European Theater) and Military Governor of Germany. During his tenure, Gen. Clay solved his greatest challenge: the Soviet Blockade of Berlin, which was imposed in June 1948. Gen. Clay triggered the Berlin Airlift, which served the city residents during the harsh winter of 1948–1949. He is also a recipient of the Legion of Merit.

General [[Norman Schwarzkopf]] received two awards of the Army DSM and one award each of the Defense DSM, Navy DSM, the Air Force DSM and the Coast Guard DSM, for a total of six DSMs.

General [[Lloyd Austin]] received four awards of the Army DSM and five awards of the Defense DSM for a total of nine DSMs.

Among notable recipients below flag rank are: X-1 test pilot [[Chuck Yeager]] and X-15 test pilot [[Robert M. White]], who both received the DSM as U.S. Air Force majors; director [[Frank Capra]], decorated in 1945 as an army colonel; actor [[James Stewart]], decorated in 1945 as an Army Air Forces colonel (later Air Force Brigadier General); Colonel [[Wendell Fertig]], who led Filipino guerrillas behind Japanese lines; Colonel (later Major General) [[John K. Singlaub]], who led partisan forces in the Korean War; and Major [[Maude C. Davison]], who led the "[[Angels of Bataan]] and Corregidor" during their imprisonment by the Japanese, and Colonel William S. Taylor, Program Manager Multiple Launch Rocket System. Among notable civilian recipients are [[Harry L. Hopkins]], [[Robert S. McNamara]] and [[Henry L. Stimson]].

[[Samuel W. Koster]] received a DSM, but this was rescinded due to his involvement in covering up the [[My Lai massacre]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer C. |date=2011 |title=The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War |volume=II (H-P) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qh5lffww-KsC&pg=PA608 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=608–609 |isbn=978-1-85109-960-3 }}</ref>

Notable American and foreign recipients include:
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2008}}

===United States Army===
*[[General of the Armies]] [[John J. Pershing]] – Commander of the [[American Expeditionary Forces]]
*[[General of the Army (United States)|General of the Army]] [[George C. Marshall]] – [[US Army Chief of Staff]] (two awards)
*General of the Army [[Douglas MacArthur]] – [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] (five awards)
*General of the Army [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] – [[NATO]] [[Supreme Allied Commander Europe]] (five awards)
*General of the Army [[Omar N. Bradley]] – [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] (four awards)
*[[General (United States)|General]] [[John Abizaid]] – Commander [[US Central Command]]
*General [[Creighton Abrams]] – US Army Chief of Staff (five awards)
*General [[Lloyd Austin]] – Commander US Central Command (four awards)
*General [[Julius W. Becton Jr.]] – African American combat veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars.
*General [[J. H. Binford Peay III]] – Commander US Central Command (two awards)
*General [[Tasker H. Bliss]] – US Army Chief of Staff
*General [[George W. Casey Jr.]] – US Army Chief of Staff (two awards)
*General [[Richard E. Cavazos]] - Commander United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) (two awards)
*General [[Peter W. Chiarelli]] – US Army Vice Chief of Staff
*General [[Mark W. Clark]] – Commander of the [[United Nations Command]] (four awards)
*General [[Lucius D. Clay]] – Commanding General European Theater and Military Governor of Germany (three awards)
*General [[J. Lawton Collins]] – US Army Chief of Staff (four awards)
*General [[Bantz J. Craddock]] – Commander US European Command
*General [[Malin Craig]] – US Army Chief of Staff (three awards)
*General [[Martin E. Dempsey]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (six awards)
*General [[Oliver W. Dillard]] – African American infantry officer and combat veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars (two awards)
*General [[Ann E. Dunwoody]] – First female US Army four-star general [[United States Army Materiel Command]] (two awards)
*General [[John W. Foss]] – Commander Training and Doctrine Command (three awards)
*General [[Tommy Franks]] – Commander US Central Command (two awards)
*General [[John Galvin (general)|John Galvin]] – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe
*General [[Alfred Gruenther]] – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (four awards)
*General [[Alexander Haig]] – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe
*General [[Carter Ham]] – Commander of [[United States Africa Command]]
*General [[John J. Hennessey]] – Commander [[United States Readiness Command]]
*General [[John L. Hines]] – US Army Chief of Staff
*General [[Harold K. Johnson]] – US Army Chief of Staff (two awards)
*General [[George Joulwan]] – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe
*General [[Lyman L. Lemnitzer]] – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (four awards)
*General [[Peyton C. March]] – US Army Chief of Staff
*General [[Edward C. Meyer]] – US Army Chief of Staff
*General [[Mark Milley]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (four awards)
*General [[Lauris Norstad]] – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe
*General [[George S. Patton]] – Commander US 3rd Army (three awards)
*General [[David Petraeus]] – Commander International Security Assistance Force (three awards)
*General [[Colin Powell]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (two awards)
*General [[Dennis Reimer]] – US Army Chief of Staff
*General [[Matthew B. Ridgeway]] – US Army Chief of Staff (four awards)
*General [[Bernard W. Rogers]] – NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe
*General [[Peter Schoomaker]] – US Army Chief of Staff (three awards)
*General [[Norman Schwarzkopf]] – Commander of [[Operation Desert Storm]] (three awards)
*General [[John Shalikashvili]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
*General [[Hugh Shelton]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (three awards)
*General [[Eric Shinseki]] – US Army Chief of Staff (two awards)
*General [[Joseph Stilwell]] – Commander of the [[China Burma India Theater]]
*General [[Maxwell D. Taylor]] – US Army Chief of Staff
*General [[James Van Fleet]] – Commander US 8th Army in Korea
*General [[Jonathan M. Wainwright (general)|Jonathan M. Wainwright]] – Commander Allied Forces Philippines
*General [[Walton Walker]] – Commander US 8th Army in Korea (two awards)
*General [[William Westmoreland]] – US Army Chief of Staff (four awards)
*General [[Earle G. Wheeler]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (two awards)
*Lieutenant General A.C. Roper – Vice Commander, U.S. Element, North American Aerospace Defense Command and Deputy Commander, U.S. Northern Command
*[[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[John B. Coulter]] (three awards)
*Lieutenant General [[Harris W. Hollis]] – Commanding General, 9th and 25th Infantry Divisions in South Vietnam 
*Lieutenant General [[Henry E. Emerson]] – Commander XVIII Airborne Corps
*Lieutenant General [[Charles A. Flynn|Charles Flynn]] – 25th Infantry Division
*Lieutenant General [[Mark P. Hertling]] – Commanding General of US Army Europe
*Lieutenant General [[Kenneth W. Hunzeker]]
*Lieutenant General [[John C. H. Lee]] – Commanding General [[Army Service Forces]] Europe WWII
*Lieutenant General [[Hunter Liggett]]
*Lieutenant General [[Edward J. O'Neill (general)|Edward J. O'Neill]] – with 1 bronze oak leaf cluster in lieu of subsequent award of medal
*Lieutenant General [[Ricardo Sanchez]] – Commanding General V Corps (two awards)
*Lieutenant General [[Eric Schoomaker]] – 42nd Surgeon General of the United States Army
*Lieutenant General [[William Wilson Quinn]] – Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor
*Lieutenant General [[Nadja West]] – 44th Surgeon General of the United States Army
*[[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Gladeon M. Barnes]] – Chief of Research and Engineering
*Major General [[Chester V. Clifton]] – Military Aide to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson
*Major General [[William E. Cole]] – Commander 351st Field Artillery 1917–18
*Major General [[William J. Donovan]] – founder of the [[Office of Strategic Services]]
*Major General [[James L. Dozier]] – deputy chief of staff at NATO's Southern European land forces
*Major General [[Lawrence J. Fuller]] – deputy director of the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]]
*Major General [[Charles M. Gettys]] – commanding general, 23rd Infantry Division
*Major General [[George W. Goethals]] – engineer of the [[Panama Canal]]
*Major General [[William C. Gorgas]] – Surgeon General of the Army
*Major General [[Patrick J. Hurley]]
*Major General [[Edward Mann Lewis]]
*Major General [[Henry Balding Lewis]]
*Major General [[Robert McGowan Littlejohn]]
*Major General [[Viet Xuan Luong]] – United States Army, Japan
*Major General Franklin Lane McKean - Commander 96th ARCOM, Fort Douglas
*Major General [[Charles R. Miller (general)|Charles R. Miller]]
*Major General [[Mason M. Patrick]]
*Major General [[Lowell Ward Rooks]] - Commander of the 90th Infantry Division
*Major General [[Maurice Rose]] – commanding general 3rd Armored Division
*Major General [[John K. Singlaub]]
*Major General [[Charles F. Thompson]]
*Major General [[Darren L. Werner]] - Commanding General Tank, Automotive and armament Command
*Major General [[Arthur R. Wilson]]
*Major General [[Cedric T. Wins]]
*[[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Sherwood Cheney]] – chief of the Army Transport Service during World War I
*Brigadier General [[Charles G. Dawes]] – Vice President of the United States
*Brigadier General [[Anna Mae Hays]] – chief of the [[United States Army Nurse Corps]] and first female US Army general
*Brigadier General [[Frank T. Hines]] – director of the [[Veterans Administration]]
*Brigadier General [[Howard Knox Ramey]]
*Brigadier General [[Frank Merrill]]
*Brigadier General Greg Parker
*Brigadier General [[Russell W. Volckmann]]
*[[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Frank Capra]] – movie director (received as a colonel, [[Army of the United States]] in WW II) 
*Colinel Laurie Buckhout – political candidate and business executive
*Colonel [[Harvey Williams Cushing]] – neurosurgeon
*Colonel [[Horatio B. Hackett]] – Assistant administrator of the [[Public Works Administration]]; noted architect and businessman; football official and player
*Colonel [[Oveta Culp Hobby]] – director of the [[Women's Army Corps]] during World War II
*Colonel [[Herbert H. Lehman]] – Governor of New York and United States Senator
*Colonel [[Floyd James Thompson]] – The longest-held prisoner of war in American history
*Lieutenant Colonel [[Clarence O. Sherrill]]
*[[Major (United States)|Major]] [[David A. Reed]] – U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania, 1922, for service as a major in World War I
*Major [[Forsyth Wickes]] – socialite, philanthropist and collector
*Chaplain [[Francis P. Duffy]] – chaplain of the "[[69th New York Infantry|Fighting 69th]]"
*Major [[Herbert O. Yardley]] – cryptologist
*[[Sergeant Major of the Army]] [[Daniel A. Dailey]]
*[[Command Sergeant Major]] [[Adam Nash (soldier)|Adam Nash]]
*[[Command Sergeant Major]] [[John P. McDwyer]]
* Sergeant First Class  [[Kyle F. Salone Jr.]]

===United States Navy===
*[[Fleet admiral (United States)|Fleet Admiral]] [[Chester W. Nimitz]] – [[Chief of Naval Operations]]
*Fleet Admiral [[William F. Halsey]] – Commander of the [[United States Third Fleet|3rd Fleet]]
*[[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[William S. Benson]] - Chief of Naval Operations
*Admiral [[William J. Crowe, Jr.]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
*Admiral [[William Fechteler]] - Chief of Naval Operations
*Admiral [[Albert Gleaves]] - Commander of the Asiatic Fleet
*Admiral [[Jonathan Greenert]] - Chief of Naval Operations
*Admiral [[Thomas C. Kinkaid]] - Commander Sixteenth Fleet
*Admiral [[William V. Pratt]] - Chief of Naval Operations
*Admiral [[U. S. Grant Sharp Jr.]] - Commander US Pacific Command
*Admiral [[Raymond A. Spruance]] – Commander of the [[United States Fifth Fleet|5th Fleet]] (later Ambassador to the [[Philippines]])
*Admiral [[Harold Rainsford Stark]] - Chief of Naval Operations
*Admiral [[Carlisle Trost]] – Chief of Naval Operations
*Admiral [[Henry B. Wilson]] - Commander of the Atlantic Fleet
*[[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice Admiral]] [[Robert L. Ghormley]]
*Vice Admiral [[Henry Kent Hewitt]] (with oak leaf cluster)
*[[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Hilary P. Jones]]
*Rear Admiral [[Charles P. Plunkett]]

===United States Marine Corps===
*General [[Paul X. Kelley]]
*General [[Vernon E. Megee]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=42339|title=Valor awards for Vernon E. Megee|website=valor.militarytimes.com}}</ref>
*General [[Peter Pace]] – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
*Major General [[Graves B. Erskine]]
*Major General [[Smedley Butler]]
*Major General [[John A. Lejeune]]

===United States Air Force===
Note – includes Army Air Service, Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces

*[[General of the Air Force]] [[Hap Arnold]] – commander of the Army Air Forces
*General [[Jimmy Doolittle]]
*General [[Edwin W. Rawlings]]
*General [[Joseph McNarney]]
*General [[Hoyt S. Vandenberg]] – [[Air Force Chief of Staff]] and [[Director of Central Intelligence]]
*General [[George C. Kenney]]
*General [[Curtis Lemay]] – Air Force Chief of Staff
*General [[Carl Spaatz]] – Air Force Chief of Staff
*General [[Michael E. Ryan]]
*Lieutenant General [[Claire Lee Chennault]] (with oak leaf cluster) – Leader of the [[Flying Tigers]]
*Major General [[Billy Mitchell]], USAAC – Military air power prophet
*Brigadier General [[Chuck Yeager]] – Legendary test pilot
*Colonel [[Bernt Balchen]], USAF – Legendary Norwegian-American pilot and arctic explorer.
*Captain [[John Birch (missionary)|John Birch]], USAAF – Missionary, guerilla leader and namesake of the [[John Birch Society]]
*Brigadier General [[Darr H. Alkire]]

===Civilians===
*[[Grace Banker]] – Chief telephone operator of mobile for the [[American Expeditionary Forces]]
*[[Bernard Baruch]] – Chairman, War Industries Board, 1918
*[[Evangeline Booth]] – General of the [[Salvation Army]]
*[[James F. Byrnes]] - [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] during World War II
*[[Jacqueline Cochran]] – Aviator and founder of the [[Women Airforce Service Pilots]] (WASPs)
*[[Henry Pomeroy Davison]] – Director of the [[American Red Cross]]
*[[Jane Delano]] – Founder of the [[American Red Cross Nursing Service]]
*[[James Forrestal]] – [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]]
*[[Hugh Frayne]] – chairman, labor division of the War Industries Board<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-tribune-hugh-frayne-dies-after/138564870/ |title=Hugh Frayne Dies After Operation in New York |date=1934-07-13 |newspaper=[[The Scranton Times-Tribune|The Scranton Times]] |page=27 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}}</ref>
*[[Harry Augustus Garfield]] – U.S. Fuel Administrator
*[[Harry Hopkins]] – Presidential aide to Franklin Roosevelt.
*[[Edward N. Hurley]] – Chairman, [[Federal Trade Commission|American Shipping Board]]
*[[Robert McNamara]] – Secretary of Defense
*[[Edwin B. Parker]] – Member of the War Industries Board and arbiter with Germany, Austria and Hungary following World War I<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-judge-e-b-parker-debt-ex/138641472/ |title=Judge E. B. Parker, Debt Expert, Dies |date=1929-10-30 |newspaper=The Evening Star |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2024-01-13}}{{Open access}}</ref>
*[[Hannah J. Patterson]] – Resident director of the Women's Committee of the [[Council of National Defense]]
*[[Anna Howard Shaw]] – Head of the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense
*[[Edward R. Stettinius]] – Director general of purchases for the War Department
*[[John F. Stevens]] –  Engineer of the [[Panama Canal]] and the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]]
*[[Henry L. Stimson]] – Secretary of War
* Maude Cleveland (Woodworth) – Chief of the home communication and casualty service, Red Cross, at Brest, France<ref>{{cite book |title=War Expenditures: Hearings Before Subcommittee No. 3 |date=1920 |publisher=US Government Printing Office |location=Washington, DC |page=2731 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fu4sAAAAYAAJ&dq=Pershing%20Baker%20%22Maude%20Cleveland%22&pg=PA2731 |access-date=24 September 2023}}</ref>

===Foreigners===
*[[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby]], General (later Field Marshal), British Army
*HM [[Albert I of Belgium|Albert I]], [[King of Belgians]]
*[[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke]], field marshal, British Army
*[[Pietro Badoglio]], general, Italian Army
*[[William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood]], general, British Indian Army (during secondment to Australian Army, later promoted to Field Marshal)
*[[Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy]], General (later Field Marshal), British Army
*Sir [[Winston Churchill]] KG, OM, PC, CH, FRS – British Minister of Munitions (later Prime Minister)
*[[Harry Crerar]], lieutenant general, Canadian Army
*[[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope]], Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy
*Sir [[Arthur Currie]], lieutenant general, British Army, commanding Canadian Corps
*[[Georges de Bazelaire]], major general, VII Army Corps of the French Army during World War I
*Sir [[Francis de Guingand]], major general, British Army
*[[Jean de Lattre de Tassigny]], general, French Army (later a [[Marshal of France]])
*Sir [[Miles Dempsey]], general, British Army
*Sir [[John Dill]], field marshal, British Army
*[[Ferdinand Foch]], Marshal of France, French Army
*[[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig]], field marshal, British Army
*[[Arthur Travers Harris|Arthur T. Harris]], air chief marshal, Royal Air Force (later a [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]])
*[[Chiang Kai-shek]], general, Chinese Army
*[[Mariano Goybet]], general, French Army
*[[Charles Mangin]], general, French Army
*[[Paul Maistre]], general, French Army
*Sir [[Richard McCreery]], general, British Army
*Lord [[Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner|Alfred Milner]], British Secretary of State for War
*[[Živojin Mišić]], field marshal, Serbian Army
*Sir [[John Monash]], general, Australian Army
*[[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein]], field marshal, British Army
*Sir [[Frederick E. Morgan]], lieutenant general, British Army
*[[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]], admiral, Royal Navy (later [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]])
*[[Henri Petain]], Marshal of France, French Army
*[[Alexander Pokryshkin]], Marshal of the Soviet Air Force
*[[Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford]], [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]]
*[[Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet]], field marshal, British Army
*[[Frederick Sykes]], [[Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)]]
*[[Tanaka Giichi]], general, Imperial Japanese Army
*[[Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder]], air chief marshal, Royal Air Force (later [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]])
*[[Sir Henry Worth Thornton]], major general, British Army (American-born)
*[[Gerald Trotter]], brigadier-general, British Army
*[[Sir Thomas Montgomery-Cuninghame, 10th Baronet]] of Corsehill, brevet lieutenant colonel, military attache, British Army<ref>{{cite news |title=The Gazette |work=The Edinburgh Gazette |date =18 July 1919 |access-date=19 June 2014 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/13475/page/2427| publisher = [[The Edinburgh Gazette]]}}</ref>
*[[Uehara Yūsaku]], field marshal, Imperial Japanese Army
*[[Maxime Weygand]], general, French Army
*[[Harold St. John Loyd Winterbotham]], British

==See also==
*[[Awards and decorations of the United States military]]
*[[Awards and decorations of the United States Army]]
*[[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal]]
*[[Coast and Geodetic Survey Distinguished Service Medal]]
*[[Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal]]
*[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
Major General Franklin L McKean - https://ocsalumni.org/at_biz_dir/franklin-l-mckean/

==External links==
{{commons category|Distinguished Service Medal (United States Army)}}
*[https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/xml_pubs/r600_8_22/cover.xml Department of the Army Regulation 600-8-22; Military Awards; 2006-12-11; Effective date: 2007-01-11.]
*[https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/xml_pubs/r670_1/cover.xml Department of the Army Regulation 670-1; Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia; 2005-02-03; Effective date: 2005-03-03.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061029030422/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/DISTINGUISHED%20SERVICE%20MEDAL1.htm US Army Institute of Heraldry: Distinguished Service Medal]
*[http://www.gruntsmilitary.com/dsm.shtml Distinguished Service Medal - Criteria, Background, and Images] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216150455/http://www.gruntsmilitary.com/dsm.shtml |date=2007-12-16 }}
*[http://www.ncohistory.com/history/noteworthy.html Noteworthy NCOs]
*[https://archive.org/details/congressionalmed00unitrich/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater ''Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and Distinguished Service Medal Issued by The War Department''] 1919

{{USArmy decorations}}

[[Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)|*]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1918]]