Medal "Silver Star" of the sample of 1932 in the original case, USA

An original and quite rare award in excellent condition. Bronze, gilding, silvering. The medal is on the original pad. The set includes a case and 2 straps. Guarantee of authenticity.

The Silver Star (Eng. Silver Star, abbreviations: Eng. SS, SSM) is a personal military award of the United States, the basis for awarding which is courage and bravery shown in battle. The Silver Star is a federal award and is intended to award servicemen of all five branches of the US Armed Forces.

The Silver Star medal traces its history back to the star "For Distinction" (English Citation Star) established by an act of the US Congress on July 9, 1918, a sign with a diameter of 3/16 inches (about 4.8 mm) attached to the ribbon of the medal for the military campaign. At its core, the star was not an independent award, but an additional badge of the award. The star "For Distinction" was awarded to US Army servicemen whose courage and bravery were noted in the command order, but whose merits were not enough to be awarded the Medal of Honor or the Distinguished Service Cross. The statute of the award provided for the possibility of retroactive awarding.

A similar award was established for military personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps in 1920 as a badge of the awarded "Special letter of commendation" (Eng. special letter of commendation) by the Bureau of Naval Awards (Eng. Board of Naval Award); as well as the Army star "For Distinction", this badge represented It is a silver star with a diameter of 3/16 inches.

In 1932, the award acquired a modern look: on July 19, by order of the Ministry of Defense, an independent medal, the Silver Star, was approved instead of the army Star "For Distinction"; a 3/16—inch silver star became its central element. The design of the award was developed by the jewelry firm Bailey, Banks and Biddle. According to the regulations on the award, US Army servicemen could replace previously received stars "For Distinction" with a Silver Star medal. Members of the Navy and Marine Corps could exchange only if the award of the star "For Distinction" was made by the US Army. The first recipient of the new medal was General Douglas MacArthur — during the First World War, he was awarded the star "For Distinction" seven times and was awarded a Silver Star with Oak Leaves denoting multiple awards.

In 1942, the statute of the award was clarified: the "Silver Star" became an award for courage and bravery shown in battle. As such, the award was established by an Act of the US Congress of August 7, 1942 for the Navy and Marine Corps, and by an act of Congress of December 15, 1942 - for Army personnel.

During the existence of the award, the largest number of Silver Star awards was awarded to Colonel David H. Haskell of the U.S. Army, who was awarded three times during the Korean War and seven times during the Vietnam War.