The Tiffany Cross

Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor
1919–1942 Navy "Tiffany Cross" pattern
Awarded by the President of the United States in the name of Congress
Type	Medal (Decoration)
Eligibility	US Navy and Marine Corps personnel, 1917–1942
Awarded for	Gallantry and intrepidity in actual conflict at the risk of one's life above and beyond the call of duty
Status	Obsolete 7 August 1942
Description	Modified cross pattée
Motto	VALOUR
Statistics
Established	4 February 1919 (retroactive to 6 April 1917)
First awarded	15 October 1917, World War I
Last awarded	8 January 1928, Nicaragua
Total awarded	28
Posthumous awards	5
Distinct recipients	28
Precedence
Equivalent	Medal of Honor
Next (lower)	Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Details of the Tiffany Cross

The Tiffany Cross Medal of Honor arose immediately after World War I, as the US Navy decided to recognize via the Medal of Honor two manners of heroism, one in combat and one in the line of a sailor's profession. The original upside-down star was designated as the non-combat version and a new pattern of the medal pendant, in cross form, was designed by the Tiffany Company in 1919. It was to be presented to a sailor or Marine who "in action involving actual conflict with the enemy, distinguish[es] himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty and without detriment to his mission." This pendant became the Tiffany Cross.

The Tiffany Cross is suspended from the classic light blue Medal of Honor ribbon with 13 white stars. At the ribbon top is a bar with the word "VALOUR". The medal is a gold cross pattée overlaying an oak and laurel wreath on the obverse side, with an antique anchor in each arm of the cross. The center, overlaying the cross, is an octagon with the phrases "UNITED STATES NAVY" to the top and "1917·1918" to the bottom, on the perimeter separated by two stars. The center of the octagon is the Great Seal of the United States. The reverse side is flat, suitable for engraving. Awardees' medals often had intricate inscriptions.

On 4 February 1919 Congress, in the same act that created the Navy Cross and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Congress provided:

That the President of the United States be, and is hereby authorized to present in the name of Congress, a Medal of Honor to any person who, while in the naval service of the United States, shall, in action involving actual conflict with the enemy, distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty and without detriment to the mission of his command or the command to which attached.

Designed by Tiffany Company, this medal became the Tiffany Cross and eligibility was retroactive to 6 April 1917, when the United States entered World War I.