Honour medal for courage and devotion

(Redirected from Médaille d’honneur pour acte de courage et de dévouement) Award

Honour medal for courage and devotion
Honour medal for courage and devotion in silver 2nd Empire (obverse)
Type	Decoration
Awarded for	Act of courage and devotion
Presented by	France
Eligibility	Military and civilians
Status	Currently awarded
Established	2 March 1820
Precedence
Next (higher)	Médaille d'honneur des personnels civils relevant du ministère de la défense
Next (lower)	Médaille d'honneur du service de santé des armées

The Honour medal for courage and devotion (French: "Médaille d’honneur pour acte de courage et de dévouement") is a French decoration than can be bestowed to individuals and whole units. It is awarded for acts of courage during a rescue. The Honour medal for courage and devotion was created on 2 March 1820 by King Louis XVIII. It has gone through several designs during its long history. The award was given its present name by a decree of 16 November 1901.

Award statute

Any person who risks his or her life to come to the rescue of one or many persons in danger, may be recognized with the medal. When the act of rescue does not warrant award of the medal, a letter of congratulations for a successful rescue or an honorable mention for a recognized meritorious act in the form of an official certificate type scroll may be granted.

The Honour medal for courage and devotion is divided into five grades:

Bronze (French: Bronze)
Silver 2nd class (French: Argent de 2ème classe)
Silver 1st class (French: Argent de 1ère classe)
Silver-gilt (French: Vermeil)
Gold (French: Or)

Bronze grade: awarded if the rescuer exposed himself or herself to a life-threatening condition, or to lesser risk if previously awarded a letter of congratulations and an honorable mention.

Silver grades 1st and 2nd class: awarded only if previously awarded the bronze grade following a new act of courage during a rescue. The two grades are awarded for successive acts of courage.

Silver-gilt grade: awarded only for the most intrepid acts to the bearer of two silver grade medals.

Gold grade: awarded as an outstanding testimony to a person having distinguished himself or herself through exceptional acts towards his or her fellow citizens.

The Honour medal for courage and devotion may also be collectively awarded to emergency and rescue units where the personnel present during the rewarded acts may wear a tricolour (blue-white-red) fourragère.

Award description

The design of the Honour medal for courage and devotion changed many times through the decades. It is now a 27mm in diameter circular medal struck in bronze, silver, silver-gilt or gold. Its obverse bears the relief image of a standing woman holding palms and crowns surrounded by scenes of rescues under the relief inscription "DÉVOUEMENT" (English: "DEVOTION"). The reverse bears along its upper circumference, the relief inscription "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE" (English: "FRENCH REPUBLIC"), at its center, the inscription "MINISTÈRE DE L'INTÉRIEUR" (English: "INTERIOR MINISTRY") over a framed rectangular area destined to receive the name of the recipient and year of the award.

The medal hangs from a 3 cm wide silk moiré tricolour ribbon of equal width blue, white and red vertical stripes. The 3 cm wide and 22mm high ribbon suspension loop is cast as an integral part of the medal in the form of oak leaves. The leaves of the suspension loop change colour depending on the grade of the award, bronze for the bronze grade, silver for the silver grade second class, silver-gilt for the silver grade first class and silver-gilt grade, and gold for the gold grade.

Different devices may be worn on the service ribbon to denote the grade of the award when only the ribbons are worn. A plain ribbon is worn for the bronze grade, the silver grade second class is denoted by the addition of a silver five pointed star, a silver and a silver-gilt star for the silver grade first class, a silver-gilt star for the silver-gilt grade and a rosette for the gold grade.

Gold grade obverse & ribbon	Silver-gilt grade obverse & ribbon	Silver grade 1st cl. obverse & ribbon	Silver grade 2nd cl. obverse & ribbon	Bronze grade obverse & ribbon	Common reverse to all grades

Noteworthy recipients (partial list)

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Insignia of the Paris Fire Brigade, a recipient unit of the Honour medal for courage and devotion

Gendarmerie general Denis Favier
Paris firefighter Joseph Maigrot
Rescue helicopter pilot Jean Boulet
General Jean Bouffet
Rescue helicopter pilot René Romet
Navy commander, doctor Éric Dumont
Police commissioner Robert Blémant
Paris firefighter lieutenant-colonel Frédéric Curie
Gendarmerie colonel Olivier Kim
Firefighter colonel Antoine Battesti
Military rabbi Paul Haguenauer
Navy commander Philippe Kieffer
Police detective Roger Borniche
Writer and historian Olivier-Raoul-Hugues Chebrou de Lespinats
Police commissioner Christophe Gavat
Oscar II, King of Sweden
Mamoudou Gassama, who climbed the outside of an apartment building to rescue a toddler hanging from a balcony
Kenneth John Bellamy and Richard Jebbett of Lincolnshire, UK, who jumped into the River Seine in Paris and rescued a drowning woman.

Recipient units (partial list)

References

^ "France Phaléristique web site" (in French). Marc Champenois. 2004-01-01. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
^ Battini, Jean; Zaniewicki, Witold (2003). Guide pratique des décorations françaises actuelles. Paris: LAVAUZELLE. pp. 227–229. ISBN 2-7025-1030-2.
Lindqvist, Herman (2022). Oscar II: den konungsligaste av alla kungar (in Swedish). Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag AB. p. 92. ISBN 978-91-0-018884-9. OCLC 1371246021.
Sveriges regenter : Från forntid till nutid, Lars O. Lagerqvist, Norstedts, Stockholm 1997 ISBN 91-1-963882-5 p. 394

External links

Orders, decorations, and medals of France

Orders

National	Order of the Legion of Honour Order of Liberation Order of Merit
Ministerial	Order of Academic Palms Order of Agricultural Merit Order of Maritime Merit Order of Arts and Letters
Territorial	Order of Tahiti Nui

Decorations and medals

Civilian

Military

Commemorative medals

1852 – 1871: Second Empire	Saint Helena Medal Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition Commemorative medal of the Mexico Expedition
1871–1914: Belle Époque	Commemorative medal of the 1870–1871 War Tonkin Expedition commemorative medal (1885) Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal (1892) Madagascar Expeditions commemorative medal Colonial Medal China Expedition commemorative medal (1901) Morocco commemorative medal (1909)
1914–1918: World War I	1914–1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal Dardanelles campaign medal Orient campaign medal Commemorative medal of the 1914–1918 War Medal of French Gratitude Medal for Victims of the Invasion Medal for civilian prisoners, deportees and hostages of the 1914-1918 Great War
1918–1939: Interwar	Syria-Cilicia commemorative medal
1939–1945: World War II	Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France Italian Campaign medal Medal for deportation and internment for acts of resistance Political deportation and internment medal Commemorative medal of the 1939–1945 War Medal of a liberated France Recusant's insignia
1945–1964: Decolonisation	United Nations operations in Korea commemorative medal Indochina Campaign commemorative medal Middle East operations commemorative medal North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal
Since 1964	Medal of the Nation's Gratitude North Africa medal United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon medal French commemorative medal Medal for the Military Protection of the Territory

Defunct orders

Royal & Imperial	Order of Saint Michael Order of the Holy Spirit Order of Saint Louis Order of Military Merit Order of the Iron Crown Order of the Three-Golden Fleeces Order of the Reunion Decoration of The Lily Decoration of the Bordeaux Armband Decoration of the Fidelity Medal of the wounded Order of the Cross of July
Ministerial	Order of Merit for Veterans Order of Military Merit Order of Civil Merit Order of Social Merit Order of Labour Merit Order of Touristic Merit Order of the National Economy Order of Commercial and Industrial Merit Order of Artisan Merit Order of Public Health Order of Postal Merit Order of Sport Merit
Colonial	Order of Indochinese Merit Order of Saharan Merit Order of the Black Star Order of the Star of Anjouan Order of Nichan el Anouar Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam Royal Order of Cambodia Order of Merit of Madagascar and dependencies Order of Merit of Cameroon