American Art Collaborative

Congress authorized the United States Navy Distinguished Service Medal on February 4, 1919. The medal is awarded for meritorious service in the Navy, whether in combat or noncombat operations. This is a large-scale replica of an alternate design by Paul Manship and may have been created as an artist’s sample or to hang in an officer’s quarters. The American eagle appears on the obverse and Poseidon’s trident on the reverse. The pendant medal hangs from a bar sculpted in the shape of a military ship supported by two dolphins