The Decoration of Merit is an important military decoration

Military decoration

A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....

 for bravery in the Netherlands The medal was established by the Dutch minister of defence Wim van Eekelen

Wim van Eekelen

Willem Frederik van Eekelen is a Dutch politician.Van Eekelen is a former defence minister from 1986 to 1988 and a secretary general of the Western European Union.-References:...

 on 16 April 1987. The award was created by ministerial decree and is therefore a medal of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)

The Netherlands Ministry of Defence governs the Netherlands Armed Forces. The Minister is assisted by a State Secretary...

 and not a royal decoration.

Defence ministries in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 award similar decorations. This way chivalric orders keep their exclusivity.

The ministerial decree requires four criteria for granting:

• exceptional merits towards the armed forces which are incidentally of nature,
• individual courage in life-threatening situations,
• brave action in conflict situations in peace time, and
• particular merits of Dutch and foreign civil and military authorities.

In 2002, minister Benk Korthals

Benk Korthals

Albert Hendrik Korthals is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. He is the Party Chair of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy since May 22, 2011...

 added a fifth criteria for granting the medal:

• exceptional activities for the Netherlands Armed forces.

The award is granted in silver or gold.

The medal is the sixth highest military decoration

Military decoration

A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....

, after the Medal of Recognition

Medal of Recognition

The Medal of Recognition 1940-1945 is a royal medal of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which has been established by Royal Decree at 9 February 1946. The decoration exists in two classes, which of silver and bronze...

, still being awarded for bravery.

Design

The medal has the shape of an old Dutch fortresses in the style that was introduced in the late 17th century by the Dutch fortress builder Menno van Coehoorn

Menno van Coehoorn

Menno, Baron van Coehoorn was a Dutch soldier and military engineer of Swedish extraction. He made a number of influential weaponry innovations in siege warfare and fortification techniques...

. The moat of the hexagonal fortresses has been reflected in blue emaille. In the middle of the depicted fortresses the symbols of three of the four branches of the Netherlands armed forces are displayed. These are the "climbing lion with sword and arrows" of the Royal Netherlands Army

Royal Netherlands Army

The Royal Netherlands Army is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands.-Short history:The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins date back to 1572, when the so-called Staatse Leger was raised...

, the "anchor" of the Royal Netherlands Navy

Royal Netherlands Navy

The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

, and the "flying eagle" of the Royal Netherlands Air Force

Royal Netherlands Air Force

The Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...

. The "burning grenade", the symbol of the fourth branch, the Royal Marechaussee, is lacking. On the reverse side, the words "KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN" (English: Kingdom of the Netherlands) and "MINISTER VAN DEFENSIE" (English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: Minister of Defence) are engraved in a circle.

The medal is worn with a Nassau blue ribbon that has narrow red and white borders. Recipients may wear a ribbon bar at their uniform with the same composition (although on the ribbon bar of the golden medal a golden palm branch is added).

American sergeant posthumously awarded

On 12 September 2007 American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 sergeant Alexander van Aalten, (a descendant of Dutch ancestors) posthumously received the Decoration of Merit in gold. In April 2007 Van Aalten, while in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, volunteered to assist with the salvage of a fallen Dutch Corporal Strikl who had been killed by an improvised explosive device

Improvised explosive device

An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...

. Van Aalten was however killed himself by a land mine

Land mine

A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

 while attempting to retrieve the body of Strikl. The golden Decoration of Merit was presented by Netherlands minister of defence Eimert van Middelkoop

Eimert van Middelkoop

Eimert van Middelkoop is a Dutch politician of the ChristianUnion party.From 2007 till 2010 he was Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Balkenende IV...

 to the widow Shana van Aalten. As result of this high Dutch honour the body of sergeant Van Aalten was re-buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

.

Van Aalten was linked to the 82nd Airborne 1-508 PIR, a so-called airborne infantry

Airborne forces

Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...

 division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

. The 82nd Airborne played a large role in the liberation of the Netherlands during the second world war. In the Battle of Arnhem

Battle of Arnhem

The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....

 this division suffered heavy losses. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands let attach the cross of Military William Order to the standard of the regiment for the liberation of Nijmegen.