American Art Collaborative

Research has not revealed the purpose for which Paul Manship designed this cross, although the design is very similar to the Navy Cross created by James Earle Fraser after World War I. The trident on the reverse appears as well in Manship’s design for the Navy’s Distinguished Service Medal (see 1965.16.97), created in 1919. The Medal of Honor, the Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal are the highest awards earned in the United States Navy