Navy Cross the anchors. The service ribbon is navy blue with a center stripe of white identical to the suspension ribbon of the medal. The blue alludes to naval service; the white represents the purity of selflessness. The Secretary of the Navy has only occasional opportunities to confirm that the Navy Cross has been awarded to a non-U.S. recipient. Slightly more than 100 such honors have been extended to men who were not citizens of the United States. Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States military's second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat. The Navy Cross is awarded primarily to
General Service Medal (1918) General Service Medal (1918) The General Service Medal (1918 GSM) was instituted to recognise service in minor Army and Royal Air Force operations for which no separate medal was intended. Local forces, including police, qualified for many of the clasps, as could units of the Indian Army prior to 1947. The GSM was equivalent to the 1915 Naval General Service Medal. Both these medals were replaced by the General Service Medal in 1962. A bronze oak leaf emblem is worn on the ribbon of the medal to signify a mention in dispatches for a campaign for which the GSM was