Bronze Star Citation: Contents, Types, and How to Get a Copy

A Bronze Star citation is the formal written narrative that accompanies the medal and explains, in specific terms, what the recipient did to earn it. It is the document read aloud at the award ceremony, the record filed in the service member’s personnel file, and the text families most often want when they set out to preserve a veteran’s service history. Citations fall into two very different registers depending on whether the medal was awarded for heroism in combat or for meritorious service, and copies can be requested from the National Archives or, for recent Army separations, directly from Army Human Resources Command.

What a Bronze Star Citation Contains

Every Bronze Star citation follows a recognizable shape. It opens by stating whether the award is for heroic achievement, heroism, or meritorious service “in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy.” The body then describes the specific actions, typically naming dates, locations, and unit designations. For valor awards, the body sets out the hostile conditions and the personal risks the recipient took on. Citations close with a formulaic line stating that the recipient’s actions “reflect great credit” upon themselves, their unit, and their branch of service.¹

In the Army, the citation itself is tightly constrained. Under AR 600-8-22, a proposed citation must be submitted on DA Form 638 and is limited to nine lines. A longer supporting document called the award narrative may accompany the recommendation, but that too is capped at one double-spaced, typewritten page in 12-point font.² The nine-line limit is one reason citations read the way they do: compressed, formal, and stripped of anything that isn’t essential to the act being recognized.

Valor Citations Versus Meritorious Service Citations

The two kinds of Bronze Star produce two very different citations.

Valor (“V” Device) Citations

When the medal is awarded for heroism in ground combat, the ribbon carries a bronze “V” device. The qualifying act must involve direct combat with an enemy force, exposure to hostile fire, and personal risk above what is normally expected, though of a lesser degree than would merit a Silver Star.³ Under Department of the Navy implementation guidance, a valor award requires sworn testimony from at least two eyewitnesses and cannot be attached to routine end-of-tour or end-of-deployment awards.⁴

Valor citations focus tightly on a single event and emphasize immediate, personal actions under fire. A Vietnam-era citation for First Lieutenant John J. Fitzgerald described how he led a squad 600 meters under heavy machine gun fire, personally assaulted an enemy position while throwing hand grenades, continued leading his platoon despite significant blood loss, and refused medical treatment until the other wounded had been evacuated.⁵ A more recent citation for Sergeant Miguel L. Morales, awarded for a 2016 action during Operation Inherent Resolve, described him maneuvering across open terrain under intense enemy fire, coordinating helicopter gunship strikes, and continuing to fight in close combat after being wounded by grenade shrapnel on two separate occasions.⁶

Meritorious Service Citations

Citations for meritorious service typically cover an extended period, often months or a full deployment, and emphasize sustained performance, leadership, and quantifiable results. They highlight things like operational management, logistical problem-solving, troop development, and mission statistics such as combat sorties supported or pounds of munitions delivered.⁶ The Marine Corps awards manual sets the standard as performance “above that normally expected, and sufficient to distinguish the individual among those performing comparable duties.”⁷ These citations do not carry the “V” device, and the language is less dramatic, though it still conveys work meaningfully above what was expected in the recipient’s role.

One boundary worth noting: the Bronze Star does not carry the “C” (Combat Conditions) device introduced across the military in 2016. Combat conditions are already inherent to the award, since by definition the action or service occurred while the service member was personally exposed to hostile action or at significant risk of such exposure.⁸⁹

Who Writes the Citation and How It Reaches Final Form

A service member cannot recommend themselves. The recommendation must come from someone with firsthand knowledge of the qualifying action or from someone who held a position senior in grade to the nominee at the time and had full knowledge of the acts cited. If the recommender did not personally witness the action, they must have been connected to the event through their command position.²

In the Army, the recommendation travels on DA Form 638 through the chain of command. For valor awards, supporting evidence such as after-action reports, operational journals, and notarized eyewitness statements must accompany the submission.² Under wartime criteria the medal may be approved by a Senior Army Commander or a lieutenant general commanding a separate force, with delegation possible to major or brigadier generals commanding separate units.⁸

Timing matters. Army recommendations must enter military channels within two years of the qualifying act or service.¹⁰ Appeals of downgraded or disapproved awards must be filed within one year of the awarding authority’s decision; after that, the matter requires referral by a member of Congress under Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1130.²

The Navy and Marine Corps run a parallel process under SECNAV M-1650.1. Valor nominations must be originated within 45 days of the act, with each echelon of review acting within 10 working days, and final action on Navy Cross and lower-level valor awards must occur within 12 months of origination. For standard meritorious decorations, Navy and Marine Corps regulations allow up to three years for entry into official channels, with no more than five years total from the qualifying service to final action.¹¹

How to Get a Copy of a Bronze Star Citation

Citations have historically been recorded in unit General Orders, numbered documents issued by a headquarters that serve as the official authority for the award. During World War II these orders ranged from one to 18 pages and were filed at the divisional or unit level.¹² The National Archives holds a fully digitized collection of Award Cards from 1942 to 1963, organized by award type and alphabetically by the veteran’s last name, recording each recipient’s name, service number, rank, organization, and the General Order number associated with the award. These records were transferred from the Department of the Army to the National Archives in 1973 after the fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, to help reconstruct destroyed personnel files.¹³

That fire is the single biggest obstacle for many families. It destroyed roughly 80 percent of Army personnel records covering 1912 to 1960, and about 75 percent of Air Force records from 1947 to 1964 for names alphabetically after “Hubbard, James E.”¹⁴ Surviving records and reconstructed files can still be requested.

Veterans or authorized next of kin can request a citation through several channels:

Online, through the National Archives eVetRecs system or the National Archives veterans records portal.¹⁵
By mail, using Standard Form 180 or a written letter to the National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138.¹⁴
For Army separations on or after October 1, 2002, directly to Army Human Resources Command, Awards and Decorations Branch, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122-5408.¹⁶

A few things to know before you send the request. Award certificates are not automatically issued with replacement medals and must be specifically requested from the NPRC.¹⁶ You will need the veteran’s full name as used during service, service number, branch, dates of service, and date and place of birth. Non-archival records, meaning those for individuals who separated fewer than 62 years ago, require a signature from the veteran or written authorization from the veteran if a family member is making the request.¹⁴

1
ArmyWriter.com. Bronze Star Medal Citations
2
U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Military Awards, DA Form 638 Guidance
3
Air Force’s Personnel Center. Bronze Star Medal
4
U.S. Navy. ALNAV 055/17, V, C, and R Device Implementation
5
Vietnam War Archive, UMass Boston. Bronze Star Citation
6
NavyWriter.com. Bronze Star
7
U.S. Marine Corps. Bronze Star
8
U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Bronze Star Medal Quick Reference
9
DoD Instruction 1348.33. Military Awards Program
10
Rhode Island National Guard. AR 600-8-22, Military Awards
11
U.S. Marine Corps. Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual
12
80th Division Digital Archives. General Orders
13
National Archives Prologue Blog. Honoring Heroes: The Award Card Record Series
14
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessing Records at the National Archives Center
15
National Archives. Replace Military Medals, Awards, and Decorations
16
U.S. Army Veteran Medals. Veteran Medals