The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is the United States Army's second highest military decoration for soldiers who display extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force.

Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree that they are above those required for all other U.S. combat decorations, but which do not meet the criteria for the Medal of Honor.

[6] The first style of the Distinguished Service Cross was designed by Captain Aymar E. Embury II, Engineers Officer Reserve Corps, and World War I artist Lieutenant J. Andre Smith.

Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, the top U.S. ace of the war, was awarded a record eight Distinguished Service Crosses, one of which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor, while flying with the 94th Aero Squadron.

Colonel John H. Parker, the commander of the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Division, was the only ground soldier in World War I to receive four Distinguished Service Crosses.

Colonel Charles E. Kilbourne, who received the Medal of Honor in the Philippine Insurrection, was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross as chief of staff of the 89th Division.

Marine Corps Colonel Hiram I. Bearss, recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Philippines, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross while attached to the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Division.

Spanish–American War Medal of Honor recipient John H. Quick also received the Distinguished Service Cross at Belleau Wood as Sergeant Major of the Sixth Marine Regiment.

In 1920, General Peyton C. March, then serving as Chief of Staff of the Army, was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for bravery in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War when he was a 1st lieutenant.

Future Governor of American Samoa Otto Dowling received the cross for displaying bravery while responding to a fire at Lake Denmark Powder Depot, which he commanded at the time.

The sailor was John D. Bulkeley, who also received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross and was one of the most highly decorated Americans of World War II.

Six men of the 82nd Airborne Division received two Distinguished Service Crosses: Charles Billingslea,[19] James M. Gavin, Arthur F. Gorham, Matthew B. Ridgway, Reuben Henry Tucker III and Benjamin H. Vandervoort.

The commander of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, U.S. 101st Airborne Division, Richard Winters, received a Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the assault on Brecourt Manor on D-Day; a member of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, U.S. 101st Airborne Division, Harrison C. Summers received a Distinguished Service Cross for his role on the assault to capture a building complex nearby designated "WXYZ" on the field order map.

During World War II, twelve soldiers, three airmen, and two sailors received both the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross: from the Army, Bernard P. Bell, Maurice L. "Footsie" Britt, Herbert H. Burr, Leonard A. Funk, Gerry H. Kisters, James M. Logan, George L. Mabry Jr., Douglas MacArthur, Audie L. Murphy, Junior J. Spurrier, Jack L. Treadwell and Jonathan M. Wainwright; from the Army Air Forces, Richard I. Bong, Horace S. Carswell Jr. and Thomas B. McGuire Jr.; and from the Navy, John D. Bulkeley and Samuel D. Dealey (who also received four Navy Crosses).

Other notable Korean War recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross include Harold K. Johnson, later Chief of Staff of the Army, and Herbert B. Powell, later Ambassador to New Zealand (1963–67).

MG Ned D. Moore,[24] who earned a Distinguished Service Cross as a colonel in August 1950, had previously served as Chief of Staff of the 101st Airborne Division in the Battle of the Bulge and later rose to major general.

1st Lt. Joseph G. Clemons Jr. for his actions during the Pork Chop Hill, he would later command the 198th Infantry Brigade in the Vietnam War and Master Sergeant Juan E. Negrón on 1951, from 65th Infantry Regiment (United States), upgraded to Medal of Honor on 2014 by President Barack Obama Among the 14 foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross in the Korean War was Sinasi Sukan (Şinasi Sükan), a captain with 3rd Brigade Turkish Army who has lost his leg during Vegas War, Kenneth Muir, a major with the 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, British Army, who also posthumously received the Victoria Cross.

Patrick Brady, a helicopter pilot with the 44th Medical Brigade, and Robert L. Howard, a Special Forces NCO, received both the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross in Vietnam.

Major General Keith L. Ware, who had earned the Medal of Honor in World War II and who was killed in action in September 1968, received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross.

Colonel David H. Hackworth, who also received ten Silver Stars in Korea and Vietnam, later rose to prominence as a military affairs journalist.

Sergeant Adelbert Waldron III, twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1969 as a sniper with the 9th Infantry Division, is credited with 109 confirmed kills, the most among U.S.

[25][26] Dennis Tomcik, a first lieutenant with the 47th Infantry Regiment, was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for two separate actions in 1968 in the Kien Hoa Province.

Alexander M. Haig Jr., also decorated in March 1967 as a battalion commander in the 1st Infantry Division, preceded General Rogers as SACEUR, and became Secretary of State in the Reagan Administration.

David Christian, described as the "Youngest Most Decorated Officer of the Vietnam War", received the Distinguished Service Cross recipient while leading a long range reconnaissance patrol of the 1st Infantry Division, and later became a prominent advocate for veterans.

Six Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to Son Tay raiders, participants in the November 1970 attempt to rescue U.S. POWs in North Vietnam.

[34] MSgt Brendan W. O'Connor, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross after he removed his body armor to reach to a pair of wounded teammates and render medical aid to them, while under fire, on 24 June 2006.

One of the earliest such cases involves one of the most famous American soldiers of World War I, Alvin York, who initially received a Distinguished Service Cross which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

And as noted above under "Notable Recipients", top American World War I ace pilot Eddie Rickenbacker originally received eight DSCs, but one was upgraded in 1930 to the Medal of Honor.

In 1980, MSG Roy P. Benavidez, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, had his Vietnam-era DSC upgraded to the Medal of Honor, which was presented to him by President Reagan at a Pentagon ceremony on February 24, 1981.

In January 1997, as a result of its review, the Army revoked six awards of the Distinguished Service Cross to black soldiers and upgraded them to the Medal of Honor.