Military chaplain returned to their home nation unless retained to minister to prisoners of war. Inevitably, serving chaplains have died in action. The US Army and Marines lost 100 chaplains killed in action during World War II: the third highest casualty rate behind the infantry and the Army Air Forces. Many have been decorated for bravery in action (five have been awarded Britain's highest award for gallantry, the Victoria Cross, and nine have received the Medal of Honor). The Chaplain's Medal for Heroism is a special US military decoration given to military chaplains who have been killed in the line of duty,
Order of Military Merit of the Companions of Artigas March 1985. In 1991, the government of Uruguay established the Medal of Military Merit as the highest military decoration of the Army of Uruguay.<ref name="469/997"></ref> It uses the same ribbon as the Military Order of Merit of the Companions of Artigas. The order was awarded in five different classes: Order of Military Merit of the Companions of Artigas The Military Order of Merit of the Companions of Artigas (Spanish: "El Orden Militar al Mérito Tenientes de Artigas"), was a military decoration of Uruguay. The Military Order of Merit of the Companions of Artigas was established by Law N° 14.955 on