Silver Star The Silver Star , officially referred to as the Silver Star Medal by all of the United States Armed Forces , is the third highest military decoration for valor that can be awarded to any person serving in any capacity with the United States Armed Forces . The medal is awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States . History . The Silver Star medal is the successor award to the Citation Star which was established by an Act of Congress on July 9 , 1918 . On July 19 , 1932 , the Secretary of War approved the Silver Star to replace the Citation Star . The original Citation Star is incorporated into the center of the Silver Star , and the suspension and service ribbon for the Silver Star is based closely on the Certificate of Merit Medal . Authorization for the Silver Star was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the U . S . Navy on August 7 , 1942 and an Act of Congress for the U . S . Army on December 15 , 1942 . The current statutory authorization for the Silver Star is Title 10 of the United States Code , for the Army , for the Air Force , and for the Naval Service . Award criteria . The Silver Star is awarded for gallantry not justifying the award of one of the next higher valor awards – the Distinguished Service Cross , the Navy Cross , or the Air Force Cross . The gallantry displayed must have taken place while in action against an enemy of the United States , while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force , or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party . Air Force pilots , combat systems officers , Navy and Marine Corps Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers flying fighter aircraft are often considered eligible to receive a Silver Star upon becoming an ace ( i . e . , having five or more confirmed aerial kills ) , which entails the pilot and , in multi - seat fighters , the weapons system officer or radar intercept officer , intentionally and successfully risking his life multiple times under combat conditions and emerging victorious . However , during the Vietnam War , the last conflict to produce U . S . fighter aces , the one USAF pilot , the two USAF navigators / weapon systems officers ( who were later retrained as USAF pilots ) , the one USN Naval Aviator and the one USN Naval Flight Officer / radar intercept officer to achieve this distinction were eventually awarded the Air Force Cross and Navy Cross , respectively , in addition to Silver Stars previously awarded for earlier aerial kills . Appearance . The Silver Star is a gold five - pointed star , in circumscribing diameter with a laurel wreath encircling rays from the center and a diameter silver star superimposed in the center . The pendant is suspended from a rectangular shaped metal loop with rounded corners . The reverse has the inscription " FOR GALLANTRY IN ACTION " . The ribbon is wide and consists of the following stripes : Old Glory red ( center stripe ) ; proceeding outward in pairs white ; ultramarine blue ; white ; and ultramarine blue . Second and subsequent awards of the Silver Star medal are denoted by oak leaf cluster s in the Army and Air Force and by 5 / 16 inch star s in the Navy , Marine Corps , and Coast Guard Recipients . The Department of Defense does not keep extensive records of awards of the Silver Star . Independent groups estimate that between 100 , 000 and 150 , 000 Silver Stars have been awarded since the decoration was established . Colonel David Hackworth is likely to be the person who has been awarded the most Silver Stars . He earned ten Silver Stars for service in the Korean War and the Vietnam War . Female recipients . An unknown number of women received the award in World War II . In 1944 , four Army nurses serving in Italy – First Lieutenant Mary Roberts , Second Lieutenant Elaine Roe , Second Lieutenant Rita Virginia Rourke , and Second Lieutenant Ellen Ainsworth ( posthumous ) – became the first women recipients of the Silver Star , all cited for their bravery in successfully evacuating the 33rd Field Hospital at Anzio , Italy on February 10 . No record of additional female awardees since World War II has come to light , until Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester was awarded the Silver Star in 2005 for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq . In 2007 , it was discovered that three nurses who served in World War I were cited with Citation Stars for their service in July 1918 . Having never been awarded their Citation Stars , they were awarded the Silver Star posthumously . Army Specialist Monica Lin Brown was awarded the Silver Star in March 2008 for heroism in the War in Afghanistan . Notable recipients . Notable recipients include :