Order of Military Merit (Brazil)

The Order of Military Merit (Portuguese: Ordem do Mérito Militar) is an award of the Brazilian Army, established on 11 July 1934 by President Getúlio Vargas.^[2] The order is presented in five grades and recognizes distinguished service and exceptional contributions to Brazil by members the Brazilian Army and the armies of friendly nations.^[1]

Order of Military Merit
Grand officer insignia
Type	State Order
Awarded for	Distinguished service to Brazil[1]
Country	Brazil
Presented by	Brazilian Army
Eligibility	Members of the Brazilian Army or foreign armies[1]
Established	11 July 1934; 90 years ago (1934-07-11)
Ribbon bar of the order

The grades, in descending order, are:^[1]

• Grand Cross
• Grand Officer
• Commander
• Officer
• Knight

Notable recipients

Notable recipients

Name	Nationality	Grade	Date	Comment
Edward Almond	American
Henry H. Arnold	American
Kaúlza de Arriaga	Portuguese	Grand Officer		[3]
Amaro Soares Bittencourt	Brazilian
Waldemar Levy Cardoso	Brazilian
Frank P.Connelly Jr.	American
Charles de Gaulle	French
Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz	Brazilian
Ciro Ferreira Gomes	Brazilian
Hernán Terrazas Céspedes	Bolivian	Grand Officer		[4]
Dwight D. Eisenhower	American	Grand Cross	5 August 1946 (1946-08-05)	[5]
John W. Foss	American	Grand Cross
Paul L. Freeman, Jr.	American
Leonard T. Gerow	American
William C. Gribble, Jr.	American
Elvin R. Heiberg III	American
Jonas H. Ingram	American
Allan Ker VC	Scottish			[6]
Thomas B. Larkin	American
Lyman Lemnitzer	American
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	Brazilian
George C. Marshall	American	Grand Cross
Joseph T. McNarney	American
Raymond T. Odierno	American	Grand Officer
James Garesche Ord	American	Grand Officer		[7]
General Raheel Sharif	Pakistani			COAS Army[8]
Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr.	American	Grand Officer	1959 (1959)
Walter Bedell Smith	American	Grand Cross	6 September 1947 (1947-09-06)	General[9]
Gordon R. Sullivan	American
Richard Horner Thompson	American
Tércio Pacitti	Brazilian
Togo D. West, Jr.	American
Frederick L. Wieseman	American
Jair Bolsonaro	Brazilian
Paul Wynnyk	Canadian	Grand Officer	28 July 2018 (2018-07-28)	Lieutenant-General[10]
Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza	Brazilian
Siphiwe Nyanda	South African	Commander		General

References

1. Robertson, Megan C. (5 July 2007). "The Federative Republic of Brazil: Order of Military Merit". Medals of the World. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
2. "Decreto-Lei n.° 24660 de 11 de julho de 1934" (in Brazilian Portuguese). 1934-07-16. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
3. "Biografia General Kaúlza de Arriaga". Academia da Força Aérea. Retrieved 6 December 2012. Grande Oficial da Ordem de Mérito Militar (Brasil)
4. "List of recipients of the Military Order of Merit". 1979.
5. "USA and Foreign Decorations of Dwight D Eisenhower". Dwight D Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. National Archives and Records Administration (United States Government). Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2012. Brazil: Order of Military Merit, Grand Cross (June 19, 1946)
6. "Allan E Ker VC - victoriacross". www.vconline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23.
7. Cullum, George Washington; Holden, Edward Singleton (1950). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy. Vol. 9. p. 133.
8. "Army chief becomes first Asian to receive Brazil's coveted 'Order of Merit' award". 25 November 2015.
9. "In Memoriam. General Walter Bedell Smith. 5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961". Studies Archive Index. 5 (4). Central Intelligence Agency, Center for the Study of Intelligence (United States Government). 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2012. •Brazil: Order of Military Merit, degree of Grand Officer
10. "Meritorious Service Decorations List". The Governor General of Canada.