The French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) is a French Military award commonly bestowed upon foreign military forces. Created in 1915 it can either be awarded as a unit award or as an individual award for distinguished service for acts of heroism during combat with the enemy. In the United States military it is one of the hardest awards to verify. This is because foreign awards were not typically entered onto personal records following World War II and was further made difficult by the 1973 fire at the National Archives.