Legion of Honour which went to foreigners. The large number of decorations resulted from the new posthumous awards authorised in 1918. Traditionally, membership in the could not be awarded posthumously. The establishment of the Fourth Republic in 1946 brought about the latest change in the design of the Legion of Honour. The date "1870" on the obverse was replaced by a single star. The Legion of Honour is a national order of France, meaning a public incorporated body. The Legion is regulated by a civil law code, the "Code of the Legion of Honour and of the Military Medal". While the President of
Legion of Merit Marine Corps and Air Force) or Commander (Navy and Coast Guard) (O-5), and above. About the 1980s, the Legion of Merit began to be awarded more frequently to senior ranking warrant officers (W-4 and W-5), as well as to senior enlisted service members (E-8 and E-9), usually as a retirement award. The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) was established in 1969 as a "junior" version of the Legion of Merit. The MSM is awarded more frequently and to lower ranking military personnel than the Legion of Merit, so that today the award of the Legion of Merit to officers in pay