Medals “For Courage” and “For Military Merit” are the first medals established on October 17, 1938, intended to reward personal courage, valor and courage shown by soldiers of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, the Navy and citizens of the country.
The first combat medals of the early, pre-war type were with rectangular silver blocks:
Since 1943, the medals “For Courage” and “For Military Merit” replaced the red ribbon with their own, gray-blue and gray-yellow, and began to hang on pentagonal blocks.
During the pre-war period, less than 26 thousand people were awarded the medal “For Courage”, and more than 21 thousand were awarded the medal “For Military Merit”. By 1945, the number of those awarded the most widespread medal “For Military Merit” reached 5 million people, and “For Courage” - more than 4 million.
During the war years, repeated awarding of medals “For Courage” was widely practiced; holders of the 4th and 5th medals are known, undoubtedly worthy of high awards, and in 1944 - 1958 the medal “For Military Merit” was awarded to army and navy officers for 10 years of service.
Not a single award system in other countries had the practice of re-awarding similar military awards; cavaliers worthy of a new award received various marks on the ribbon of the old award in the form of stars, twigs, stripes, buckles, etc. However, in the USSR there were much more remarkable gentlemen, for example - Minister of Foreign Trade of the USSR Patolichev N.S. was awarded 12(!) Orders of Lenin, Marshal D.F. Ustinov. - 11 Orders of Lenin, etc.
