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The De Fleury Medal, an award of the US Army Engineer Association, was named in honor of François-Louis Teissèdre de Fleury, a French Engineer in the Continental Army.
In the late 1980s, as the Corps of Engineers implemented the U.S. Army Regimental System, the senior Engineer leadership sought a method for the Corps to honor those individuals who have provided significant contributions to Army Engineering.
The Army Regimental System was developed to emphasize the history, customs, and traditions of the Corps; so MG Daniel R. Schroeder, then Commanding General of Fort Leonard Wood and US Army Engineer School Commandant, wanted an award that would tie in with the beginnings of the nation and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Engineer Regiment adopted the de Fleury Medal as an award because of the values demonstrated by the man for whom it was struck – values of special meaning to Engineer Soldiers. When the first de Fleury medal was awarded in 1989, it became the first Congressional medal struck, though not the first Congressional medal authorized.