Original Items: Only One Group of 4 Available. This is a fantastic grouping of 4 medals dating to the 1960’s to 1980’s. The medals are in wonderful condition and would be perfect for a shadowbox display!

The medals in this grouping:
- U.S. Navy Cross by Lordship Industries: The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and Marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army's Distinguished Service Cross, the Air and Space Forces' Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross.

The Navy Cross is bestowed by the Secretary of the Navy and may also be awarded to members of the other armed services, and to foreign military personnel while serving with the U.S. Naval Service. The Navy Cross was established by Act of Congress (Public Law 65-253) and approved on February 4, 1919.

The medal is a modified cross pattée one and a half inches wide. The ends of its arms are rounded whereas a conventional cross patée has arms that are straight on the end. There are four laurel leaves with berries in each of the re-entrant arms of the cross. In the center of the cross, a sailing vessel is depicted on waves, sailing to the viewer's left. The vessel is a symbolic caravel of the type used between 1480 and 1500. Fraser selected the caravel because it was a symbol often used by the Naval Academy and because it represented both naval service and the tradition of the sea. The laurel leaves with berries refer to achievement.

Reverse: In the center of the medal, a bronze cross pattée, one and a half inches wide, are crossed anchors from the pre-1850 period, with cables attached. The letters USN are evident amid the anchors.

The earliest version of the Navy Cross (1919–1928) featured a more narrow strip of white, while the so-called "Black Widow" medals awarded from 1941 to 1942 were notable for the dark color due to over-anodized finish. The medal is similar in appearance to the British Distinguished Service Cross.

- Distinguished Service Cross by Graco: 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. The Army Distinguished Service Cross is equivalent to the Naval Services' Navy Cross, the Air and Space Forces' Air Force Cross, and the Coast Guard Cross. Prior to the creation of the Air Force Cross in 1960, airmen were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

The Distinguished Service Cross was first awarded during World War I. In addition, a number of awards were bestowed for actions which took place before World War I. In many cases, the medal was awarded to soldiers who had received a Certificate of Merit for gallantry; at the time, this certificate was the only other honor for gallantry the Army could present to combatants in lieu of a Medal of Honor. Others were furnished in belated recognition of actions which occurred in the Philippine–American War, during the Boxer Rebellion, and Pancho Villa Expedition.

The Distinguished Service Cross is distinct from the Distinguished Service Medal, which is awarded to Army soldiers in recognition of exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in a duty of great responsibility. The Distinguished Service Cross is only awarded for actions in combat, while the Distinguished Service Medal has no such restriction.

Description: A cross of bronze, 2 inches (5.1 cm) high and 1+13⁄16 inches (46 mm) wide with an eagle on the center and a scroll below the eagle bearing the inscription "FOR VALOR". On the reverse side, the center of the cross is circled by a wreath with a space for engraving the name of the recipient.

- Navy Distinguished Service Medal by Lordship Industries: The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United States while serving in a duty or position of great responsibility.

Navy Distinguished Service Medal is equivalent to the Army's Distinguished Service Medal, Air and Space Forces' Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal. The Navy Distinguished Service Medal was originally senior to the Navy Cross, until August 1942 when the precedence of the two decorations was reversed. Currently, it is worn after the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and before the Silver Star Medal.

The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a gilt bronze medallion 1.25 inches (32 mm) in diameter. The obverse of the medal depicts an American bald eagle in the center displaying its wings. The eagle holds an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left talons. The eagle is surrounded by a blue enameled ring with the words, • UNITED • STATES • OF • AMERICA • at the top and • NAVY • at the bottom. Surrounding the blue enamel ring is a gold border of scroll waves depicted moving in a clockwise direction. The medal is surmounted by a white five-pointed star, point up, the points of the star being tipped with gold balls. In the center of the star is a blue anchor, while gold rays radiate between the arms of the star.

The reverse of the medal depicts a trident surrounded by a laurel wreath. The wreath is surrounded by a blue enamel ring containing the inscription FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE. Like the obverse, the blue enamel ring on the reverse is surrounded by scroll waves.

- Legion of Merit by Lordship Industries: The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight uniformed services of the United States as well as to military and political figures of foreign governments.

The Legion of Merit (Commander degree) is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as a neck order (the other being the Medal of Honor), and the only United States military decoration that may be issued in degrees (much like an order of chivalry or certain Orders of Merit), although the degrees including a neck ribbon are only awarded to non-U.S. nationals.

The Legion of Merit is seventh in the order of precedence of all U.S. military awards and is worn after the Defense Superior Service Medal and before the Distinguished Flying Cross. In contemporary use in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Legion of Merit is typically awarded to Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force general officers and colonels, and Navy and Coast Guard flag officers and captains occupying senior command or very senior staff positions in their respective services. It may also be awarded to officers of lesser rank, senior warrant officers (typically in command positions at the rank of chief warrant officer 5), and to very senior enlisted personnel (typically in the rank of command sergeant major and Sergeant Major of the Army in the Army, fleet master chief petty officer and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy in the Navy, command chief master sergeant and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force in the Air Force, command chief master sergeant and Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force in the Space Force, and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps in the Marine Corps), but these instances are less frequent, typically by exception, and the circumstances vary by branch of service.

Authority to award the Legion of Merit is reserved for general officers and flag officers in pay grade O-9 (i.e., lieutenant general, vice admiral) and above, civilian Department of Defense personnel at assistant service secretary or Assistant Secretary of Defense level and above, or equivalent secretary-level civilian personnel with the Department of Homeland Security with direct oversight of the U.S. Coast Guard.

All medals are in wonderful condition with functional crimped brooches and locking catches. The medals are still crisp in detail and shows little wear.

Lordship Industries: Lordship was a family-owned company whose entire business consisted of making medals and insignia, and was the sole maker of the Medal of Honor. In 1996 F.B.I. Special Agent Tom Cottone found evidence that H.L.I. Lordship Industries, the low-bid company commissioned to manufacture Medals of Honor for the Pentagon, had produced hundreds (perhaps more than a thousand) of unauthorized Medals of Honor. These were blank medals, struck from the same dies as the real medals produced for the President to present. H.L.I. Lordship Industries sold these black market medals for $75 apiece. These in turn were sold at gun shows or on the Internet for prices usually in excess of $500 each.

In October 1996 following Agent Cottone’s investigation, H.L.I. Lordship Industries pled guilty to multiple federal charges including the unauthorized production and sale of 350 Medals of Honor. The company lost all federal contracts for 15 years, but most of these unauthorized Medals were never recovered (Pueblo).

Agent Cottone suspects that the actual number of illicit Medals of Honor turned out by H.L.I. Lordship Industries and flooding the market was probably triple the number the company admitted to. The ultimate result was that a large number of individuals, many of whom had never even served in the military, are now wearing or displaying Medals of Honor purchased in illegal sales and portraying themselves as war heroes.