Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

James Mark McCoy (July 30, 1930 – July 13, 2022) was the sixth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, serving from 1979 to 1981.

Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen (June 29, 1934 – December 14, 1987) was a United States Air Force officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.

John William "Jack" Nicholson Sr. (born February 22, 1934) is an American retired Brigadier General of the United States Army who was appointed secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) by President George W. Bush in January 2005.

Colonel Harold Edward Fischer Jr. (May 8, 1925 – April 30, 2009) was a United States Air Force fighter pilot and flying ace of the Korean War. He accrued 11 victories in the war. He is also one of the two flying aces to be Prisoners of War during the war. He was released in 1955 and continued to serve in the USAF until 1978.

Reid Kyle Beveridge (born October 20, 1942 in Waverly, Iowa) is a retired brigadier general in the National Guard of the United States.

Lieutenant General Herbert R. Temple Jr. (born February 28, 1928) is a career military officer who served as Chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Robert L. "Silver Fox" Stephens (December 1, 1921 – May 21, 1984) was a United States Air Force test pilot who set several speed and altitude records while testing the Lockheed YF-12 and SR-71.

Steven Angelo White (September 18, 1928 – February 1, 2021) was a four-star admiral who served in the United States Navy from 1948 until 1985. He was the 19th and last Chief of Naval Material.

Robert Lee Leuschner Jr. (March 13, 1935 – July 19, 2016) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He was Commander of the nuclear-powered carrier USS Enterprise from 1983 to 1986. A native of Texas, he was born in Waco, and later moved with his family to San Diego, California, where he graduated from high school. In 1953, he was admitted to Rice Institute in Houston, where he enrolled in the chemical engineering curriculum. He also joined the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), so that immediately after receiving his bachelor's degree, he was also commissioned as ensign in the U.S. Navy.

Major General Alfred Frederick Ahner (November 12, 1921 – September 23, 2010) was an Indiana National Guard officer who served for 15 years as the state's Adjutant General.
Ahner was born in Huntington, Indiana, and was a graduate of Indiana Central College (B.A., 1947) and Butler University (M.S., 1951). He enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve Corps on August 22, 1942 and served in World War II as a 1st Lieutenant, and was the first De-Nazification Officer in the American Zone of Vienna, Austria.After serving as a full-time staff officer with the Indiana Guard, Ahner was appointed as Adjutant General in 1960 by Governor Harold Handley. Governor Edgar Whitcomb also appointed MG Ahner in 1972, and he served until his retirement in 1986. MG Ahner served in that position longer than any other Adjutant General in the state's history, a total of 15 years, under 4 governors.