The Navy Cross - Bauble or Award?

Navy Cross

 

Navy Cross - ribbon

The medal that you are looking at is the second most prestigious medal in the United States Navy Precedence chart.  

The criteria for awarding the Navy Cross are as follows:  

The Navy Cross may be awarded to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces while serving with the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard (in time of war only) who distinguishes himself or herself in action by extraordinary heroism not justifying an award of the Medal of Honor. The action must take place under one of three circumstances:

1. While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States
2. While engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force
3. While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

The act(s) to be commended must be performed in the presence of great danger or at great personal risk and must be performed in such a manner as to render the individual highly conspicuous among others of equal grade, rate, experience, or position of responsibility. An accumulation of minor acts of heroism does not justify an award of the Navy Cross. As originally authorized, the Navy Cross could be awarded for distinguished non-combat acts, but legislation of 7 August 1942 limited the award to acts of combat heroism.

There is a reason why this medal is the 2nd highest honor in the United States Military Heraldry.

Yet we see many instances of JAG characters adorned with the Navy Cross with no idea as to why they were awarded the honor.

We know why Admiral AJ Chegwidden was awarded the Navy Cross - events during 1968 during the Tet Offensive when he was in-country.

But there are other instances:

image by "spanofan"

As Spanofan points out, he is a "single cruise" officer.  There is no way that he would have made O-6 doing a single sea-tour.  Was his single tour out to Desert Storm on CAP where he got jumped by a whole squadron of Iraqi MiG 23s?  Who the hell knows?  But that ribbon doesn't make sense.  By the time he hits O-6 he would have had a considerable number of stars on the sea-service ribbon.  So my question is where the hell would he have had the time or instance to be involved in a "combat situation" that would merit a Navy Cross?   

 

Major General Butler in Desert Son, yet again a single sea-service yet a single bronze star on his Joint Sea Service ribbon.  How can you do that and find the time to get a Navy Cross?  Was it in the same Offensive where AJ earned his?  He also served in Desert Storm in Kuwait as he has a Liberation of Kuwait and SW Asia Service 

(to be continued)