Editing Legion of Merit (section)

===World War II===

Although recommendations for creation of a medal for meritorious service were initiated as early as September 1937, no formal action was taken toward approval.

In a letter to the Quartermaster General (QMG) dated December 24, 1941, the Adjutant General formally requested action be initiated to create a meritorious service medal, and provide designs in the event the decoration was established. Proposed designs prepared by Bailey, Banks, and Biddle, and the Office of the Quartermaster General were provided to the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel (Colonel Heard) by the QMG on January 5, 1942.

The Assistant Chief of Staff (G-1), Brigadier General John H. Hilldring, in a response to the QMG on April 3, 1942, indicated the Secretary of War had approved the design recommended by the QMG. The design of the Legion of Merit (change of name) would be ready for issue immediately after legislation authorizing it was enacted into law. (A separate medal called the [[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]] was established in 1969.)

An act of Congress (Public Law 671, 77th Congress, Chapter 508, 2d Session) on July 20, 1942, established the Legion of Merit and provided that the medal "shall have suitable appurtenances and devices and not more than four degrees, and which the President, under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, may award to
:(a) personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States and of the Government of the Commonwealth Philippines and
:(b) personnel of the armed forces of friendly foreign nations who, since the proclamation of an emergency by the President on 1939-09-08, shall have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services."

The medal was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 40, dated August 5, 1942. [[Executive order|Executive Order]] 9260, dated October 29, 1942, by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], established the rules for the Legion of Merit, and required the President's approval for the award.

Following the invasion of North Africa in November 1942, a number of United States officers were awarded the Legion of Merit in the degree of Officer.  One of the recipients was future [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] [[Lyman Lemnitzer]].  Soon after, regulations for the award of the Legion of Merit were revised so that it would not be awarded in the degrees above Legionnaire to United States military personnel.

The Legion of Merit is similar to the French [[Legion of Honor]] in both its design, a five-armed cross, and in that it is awarded in multiple degrees. Unlike the Legion of Honor, however, the Legion of Merit is only awarded to military personnel. In addition, it is the only award in the world with multiple degrees of which the higher degrees cannot be awarded to citizens of the country of the award's origin.

In October 1942, Brazilian Army Brigadier General [[Amaro Soares Bittencourt]] became the first person awarded the Legion of Merit (Commander) and a week later, Lieutenant, junior grade [[Ann A. Bernatitus]], a U.S. Navy Nurse Corps officer, became the first member of the [[United States Armed Forces]] and the first woman to receive the Legion of Merit. She received the award for her service during the defense of the Philippines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/footnotes/2007/01January1-Bernatitus.html|title=Ann Bernatitus - Angel of Bataan, First Legion of Merit recipient|publisher=Home of Heroes|access-date=2007-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705045721/http://www.homeofheroes.com/footnotes/2007/01January1-Bernatitus.html|archive-date=2008-07-05|url-status=dead}} This is a detailed Home of Heroes combat biography of Lt. (j.g.), later, Capt. Ann Bernatitus (USN) with sources and also containing a discussion of Legion of Merit itself with sources.</ref> [[LTJG]] Bernatitus was also the first recipient of the Legion of Merit authorized to wear a [[Combat "V"]] with the medal.<ref>[http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=307009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405174623/http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=307009 |date=April 5, 2016 }} full citation</ref>

General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was presented the Legion of Merit by President Roosevelt while he was en route to the [[Tehran Conference]], in [[Cairo, Egypt]], on November 26, 1943.<ref>New York Times. December 7, 1945.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/daybyday/daylog/november-26th-1943/|title=November 26th, 1943 - FDR: Day by Day|access-date=March 30, 2016|archive-date=April 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418164717/http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/daybyday/daylog/november-26th-1943/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1943, at the request of the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army Chief of Staff]], General [[George C. Marshall]], approval authority for U.S. personnel was delegated to the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]]. Executive Order 10600, dated March 15, 1955, by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], again revised approval authority. Current provisions are contained in Title 10, [[United States Code]] 1121. As a result, awarding authority for the Legion of Merit resides with general officers/flag officers at the Lieutenant General / Vice Admiral level or higher.

The U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, unlike the Army and later the Air Force, provided for the Legion of Merit to be awarded with a "V" device indicating awards for participation in combat operations.

From 1942 to 1944, the Legion of Merit was awarded for a fairly wide range of achievements. This was because it was, until the establishment of the [[Bronze Star Medal]] in 1944, the only decoration below the Silver Star which could be awarded for combat valor, and the only decoration below the [[Distinguished Service Medal]] which could be awarded for meritorious noncombat service.