Medal of Military Valour

On 2 February 1993, three decorations, including the Medal of Military Valour, were created by Queen Elizabeth II as a family of Canadian military valour decorations.{{cite press release| title=Governor General to present 48 Military Decorations at Rideau Hall| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=9 February 2009| url=http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=5633| accessdate=29 August 2009}} The first awarding of the star was by Governor General Michaëlle Jean, on 27 October 2006; only with Canada's participation in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan did there emerge, for the first time since 1993, circumstances wherein one could carry out actions deserving of the Medal of Military Valour.{{cite press release| title=Governor General announces the first-ever awarding of Military Valour Decorations| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=27 October 2006| url=http://archive.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4905| accessdate=29 August 2009}}

The Medal of Military Valour is in the form of a gold medal with, on the reverse, the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch beneath a St. Edward's Crown—symbolizing the Canadian monarch's roles as both fount of honour and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces{{cite web|url=http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hon/nat-honour-honneur/index-eng.htm |last=Royal Canadian Mounted Police |title=Honours and Recognition Programs > Canadian National Honours |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |accessdate=20 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323114038/http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/hon/nat-honour-honneur/index-eng.htm |archivedate=23 March 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhr-ddhr/chc-tdh/chart-tableau-eng.asp?ref=SM |last=Department of National Defence |authorlink=Department of National Defence (Canada) |title=DH&R Home > Canadian Honours Chart > Sacrifice Medal (SM) |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |accessdate=2 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114162425/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhr-ddhr/chc-tdh/chart-tableau-eng.asp?ref=SM |archivedate=14 November 2009 }}—and the inscription PRO VALORE. The obverse bears a maple leaf surrounded by a laurel wreath, and the name and rank of the recipient is engraved on the medal's edge.

This medallion is worn on the left chest, on a {{convert|38|mm|in}} wide crimson ribbon with three vertical white stripes: for men, hung from a bar, and for women, on a ribbon bow, both pinned to the left chest. Should an individual already possessing a Medal of Military Valour be awarded the medal again for subsequent valourous acts, he or she is granted a simple gold medal bar, bearing a maple leaf at its centre, for wear on the ribbon from which the original medal is suspended;

The medal is awarded only to members of the Canadian Forces, or members of allied armed forces serving alongside the Canadian Forces, who have shown conspicuous acts of valiance in the face of enemy hostility. Should a person meet these criteria, nominations are made through his or her chain of command to the Military Valour Decorations Advisory Committee—a part of the Chancellery of Honours at Government House—which then makes its recommendations to the Governor General of Canada, via the Chief of the Defence Staff. Once they have been decorated with the Medal of Military Valour, recipients are granted the right to use the post-nominal letters MMV. The Medal of Military Valour can be awarded posthumously, as well as multiple times. By August 2009 the decoration had been awarded 38 times. No bars have yet been issued.{{cite web| url=http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/index_e.asp?results=1&Firstname=&Middlename=&Lastname=&City=&Province=&TypeID=mvd&Honours=Medal&AwardStart=&AwardEnd=&npp=25| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| authorlink=Governor General of Canada| title=Honours > Decorations > Military Valour Decorations > Search: Military Valour Decorations Recipients List > Level of Award: Medal of Military Valour| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| accessdate=29 August 2009}}

• Canadian order of precedence (decorations and medals)
• State decoration

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite web| url=http://www.medals.org.uk/canada/canada011.htm| last=Robertson| first=Megan C.| title=C > Canada > Orders, Decorations and Medals of Canada > Medal of Military Valour}}

{{Canadian Honours System}}

Category:Military awards and decorations of Canada

Category:Courage awards