On 20 February 1941, the Dutch government in exile in London instituted several new awards for bravery. The new way that wars were fought, with civilian resistance and the merchant navy in great peril, made this necessary. Amongst the new decorations was the "Cross of Merit", (Dutch: "Kruis van Verdienste") an award for "working in the interest of the Netherlands while faced with enemy actions and distinguishing oneself through valor and resolute behavior". One did not have to be on the front line to win this award.

The cross has often been awarded to those who managed to flee to England and to the armed resistance. It was rarely awarded after the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, but since the fighting of the Netherlands army in Afghanistan, Uruzgan, this World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 decoration has been awarded again on a regular basis with the latest on 7 October 2009 to eleven Dutch soldiers.

In case of repeated awards a large "2" or "3" is pinned to the ribbon.

The Cross of Merit is the fourth-highest military decoration still being awarded for bravery and has precedence after the Bronze Cross

Bronze Cross (Netherlands)

The Bronze Cross of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was instituted on 11 June 1940 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands while she was residing in London during the German occupation of the Netherlands...

.

External links

• The Cross of Merit - Official site of the Chancellery of the Netherlands Orders (English) Vereniging DMD - Website of the organization of veterans with the Cross of Merit