Littleton Waller - The Decorations and Medals of General Waller

The Decorations and Medals of General Waller

A partial listing of Waller's awards includes:

Marine Corps Brevet Medal Specially Meritorious Service Medal Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal w/ 3 service stars
West Indies Naval Campaign Medal Spanish Campaign Medal Philippine Campaign Medal China Relief Expedition Medal
Army of Cuban Pacification Medal Mexican Service Medal Haitian Campaign Medal (1917) World War I Victory Medal w/ Atlantic Fleet & West Indies clasps
Marine Corps Brevet Medal

Waller was one of only twenty living Marine officers whose gallantry in action during the Civil War, Spanish-American War, Philippine Campaign and the Boxer Rebellion had been recognized by a brevet commission. Waller's medal recognized his promotion to the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel, "for distinguished conduct and public service in the presence of the enemy near Tientsin, China", on 13 July 1900. He had retired prior to the creation of the medal, but went to Washington to receive it.

Specially Meritorious Service Medal

The letter of August 3, 1904, awarding this medal to Waller "in recognition of your gallant conduct in assisting in rescuing crews from the burning Spanish ships after the battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3, 1898" is reproduced above. This is one of only 93 known awards of the decoration, given for "specially meritorious service, otherwise than in battle, during the Spanish-American War". It was not awarded before the war with Spain, nor since. Because it recognizes heroism not in direct contact with the enemy, it may be considered a forerunner to the present-day Navy and Marine Corps Medal. The decoration is a bronze cross pattee, with an anchor in its center encircled by a wreath of oak and laurel and the inscription "U.S. Naval Campaign West Indies". The arms of the cross are inscribed "Specially Meritorious Service 1898", and it is suspended from a bright red ribbon.

Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal

Originally authorized in 1919 as a ribbon-only award. The medal was authorized in 1929, three years after Waller's death. It is not known if his survivors received the medal posthumously. At the time, numerals were worn on the ribbon to show total awards. Waller was authorized the ribbon with numeral "4" in recognition of the following service:

  • Egypt, 1882
  • Panama, 1903–04
  • Cuba, 1911–12
  • Haiti, 1916–17
Sampson Medal

Properly speaking, the "Commemorative Medal for Naval Engagements in the West Indies", it took its popular name from the fact that its obverse shows a portrait of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson. The ribbon, red with a wide central blue stripe, is suspended from a bronze pin bearing the name of the ship on which the individual served. Bronze bars are pinned to the front of the ribbon for each engagement with the enemy. No attachments were worn on the ribbon bar. Waller's medal had a ship's pin inscribed "USS Indiana", and four engagement bars - "San Juan Porto Rico", for the occupation of that city, and three bars inscribed "Santiago", for the siege, for the great battle of July 3, 1898, and for the occupation of the city. It was awarded in 1901.

Spanish Campaign Medal

Awarded to all members of the Navy and Marine Corps who served between 20 April and 10 December 1898.

Philippine Campaign Medal

For service ashore in the Philippine Islands between 4 February 1899 and 4 July 1902.

China Relief Expedition Medal

For service ashore in China between 24 May 1900 and 27 May 1901.

Cuban Pacification Medal

For service ashore in Cuba between 12 September 1906 and 1 April 1909.

Mexican Service Medal

For service at Vera Cruz from 21 April to 23 April 1914.

Haitian Campaign Medal

For service ashore in Haiti between 9 July and 6 December 1915.

WW1 Victory Medal

For service during the period 6 April 1917 to 11 November 1918, both dates inclusive.

Photos of Waller, and other Marine officers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, also show the wearing of numerous unofficial medals awarded by fraternal and patriotic societies. The Freemasons, Sons of the American Revolution, Society of the Cincinnati and Grand Army of the Republic are some of the more common ones. It is likely that the officers wore these emblems only in the photographers studio, but the regulations of the era say nothing about whether they would have actually been permitted for public display. In the photograph above, Waller wears a distinct triangular medal which represents the Military Order of the Carabao, an association of officers with service in the Philippines which was founded in 1900.

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