Distinguished Intelligence Cross
{{infobox award
| name = Distinguished Intelligence Cross
| image = Distinguished Intelligence Cross.JPG
| presenter = Central Intelligence Agency
| country = United States of America
| eligibility = Employees of the Central Intelligence Agency
| awarded_for = "For a voluntary act or acts of extraordinary heroism involving the acceptance of existing dangers with conspicuous fortitude and exemplary courage."
| lower = Distinguished Intelligence Medal
| related = National Intelligence Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross
}}
The Distinguished Intelligence Cross is the highest decoration awarded by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. It is given for "a voluntary act or acts of extraordinary heroism involving the acceptance of existing dangers with conspicuous fortitude and exemplary courage". Only a handful of people have been awarded this medal in the history of the agency, most posthumously. As a consequence, it is one of the rarest awards for valor in the United States.The very best men: four who dared, the early years of the CIA, by Evan Thomas, published by Simon and Schuster, 1996.{{Page needed|date=August 2022}}
The cross is the agency's equivalent of the military's Service Cross, i.e., Navy Cross, Army Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2013-press-releases-statements/cia-bestows-distinguished-intelligence-cross-upon-two-agency-legends.html |title=Retired CIA Officers Receive Distinguished Intelligence Cross — Central Intelligence Agency |website=www.cia.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401203256/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2013-press-releases-statements/cia-bestows-distinguished-intelligence-cross-upon-two-agency-legends.html |archive-date=2014-04-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/cia/product/fact97/medals.htm|title = CIA Medals: FACTBOOK ON INTELLIGENCE}}{{Failed verification|date=August 2022}} The agency has two awards for valor; the other is the Intelligence Star, which is analogous to the military's Silver Star.Bush at War, Bob Woodward, Simon and Schuester, 2002, page 317.Gup, Ted (2000). The Book of Honor: Cover Lives and Classified Deaths at the CIA.
Known recipients
- Leo F. Baker, posthumously for the Bay of Pigs invasion[http://39th.org/39th/aerial/62nd/Crew_51/bakerleo.htm Leo F. Baker]
- William F. Buckley
- John T. Downey{{cite web|title=Cold War arrest of US spies offers lesson for Iran diplomacy |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/12/cia-prisoners-downeyfecteauchinairandiplomacy.html |accessdate=2013-12-30}}
- Richard Fecteau{{cite web|title=Cold War arrest of US spies offers lesson for Iran diplomacy |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/12/cia-prisoners-downeyfecteauchinairandiplomacy.html |accessdate=2013-12-30}}
- Wade C. Gray, posthumously for the Bay of Pigs invasion{{Cite web |title=Pete Ray, Leo Baker, Riley Shamburger, Wade Gray - CIA |url=https://www.cia.gov/legacy/honoring-heroes/heroes/pete-ray-leo-baker-riley-shamburger-wade-gray/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=www.cia.gov}}
- James Monroe, CIA paramilitary officer during Vietnam War {{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-at-War-1.pdf|title = CIA at war|website = www.cia.gov|date=November 27, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614073228/https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-at-War-1.pdf | archive-date=2024-06-14 }}
- Thomas W. "Pete" Ray, posthumously for the Bay of Pigs invasion[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-15-mn-29130-story.html LATimes.com - Bay of Pigs: the Secret Death of Pete Ray]
- Riley W. Shamburger, posthumously for the Bay of Pigs invasion
- Greg Vogle, paramilitary officer and CIA trailblazer{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/karzai-vogel-cia-afghanistan-officer-intelligence-langley-667320|title = The CIA honored the officer who saved Hamid Karzai's life|website = Newsweek|date = 18 September 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/09/18/the-cia-acknowledges-the-legendary-spy-who-saved-hamid-karzais-life-and-honors-him-by-name/ |title=The CIA acknowledges the legendary spy who saved Hamid Karzai's life — and honors him by name |date=2021-10-28 |orig-date=2017-09-18 |author1=Ian Shapira |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}{{WaPoCheckDates}}
- Molly Huckaby Hardy, posthumously for the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Nairobi{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2018-featured-story-archive/anniversary-of-us-embassy-bombings-in-east-africa.html |title=20th Anniversary of the US Embassy Bombings in East Africa — Central Intelligence Agency |website=www.cia.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402225207/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2018-featured-story-archive/anniversary-of-us-embassy-bombings-in-east-africa.html |archive-date=2018-04-02}}
- David N. Tyson, for actions during the Battle of Qala-i-JangiHarnden, Toby, "First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11". Little, Brown, 2021. p. 310-311