FBI Honorary Medals

The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted an Honorary Medals Program in 1989 as a way of recognizing "exceptional acts" by FBI employees and other law enforcement personnel working with the FBI. These medals were created to supplement the then-existing reward system within the Bureau. There are four medals in the program intended for personnel: the FBI Star, the FBI Medal for Meritorious Achievement, the FBI Shield of Bravery, and the FBI Medal of Valor. One additional medal, the FBI Memorial Star, is for a surviving relative when a death has occurred in the line of duty. These medals are considered to be among the highest honors granted by the FBI, and fewer than 400 had been awarded as of March 2009.

"The FBI Star is awarded for serious injury sustained in the direct line of duty from physical confrontation with criminal adversaries, an injury inflicted by weapons, gunshot wounds inflicted in the line of duty, or an injury so severe that it would require substantial emergency room sutures, hospitalization, or comprehensive medical treatment for a sustained period of time." One recipient of the FBI Star is Major Peter Norton of the British Army, who was severely injured when he triggered a secondary explosive device while attempting to clear an area where five American soldiers had been killed by a roadside bomb. Norton was also awarded the George Cross—the highest British award for acts of gallantry which did not take place in action directly against enemy forces, and also awarded for civilian gallantry—for this incident.

"The FBI Medal for Meritorious Achievement is awarded for extraordinary and exceptional meritorious service in a duty of extreme challenge and great responsibility, extraordinary and exceptional achievements in connection with criminal or national security cases or projects, or a decisive, exemplary act that results in the protection or the direct saving of life in severe jeopardy in the line of duty." Supervisory Special Agent Harold Bickmore of the FBI was awarded the Medal for Meritorious Achievement for saving the life of a sixteen-year-old girl whom he found on the ground not breathing at the scene of a traffic accident on a major four-lane highway. He administered first aid on the spot, including CPR without any protection from blood-borne disease.

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