WThe Bronze Lion is a high Royal Dutch award, intended for servicemen who have shown extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring The Netherlands; in some special cases it can however be awarded to Dutch or foreign civilians. It was first created in 1944 and has since been issued 1,210 times. Proposals for an award are reviewed by the Dutch Board for Bravery Awards, which is part of the ministry of Defence. If awarded they are enforced by a Royal Decree. The Bronze Lion has precedence after the Order of the House of Orange, but is the second highest military decoration still being awarded for bravery.
WAart Hendrik Alblas, aka Klaas de Waard, was a Dutch navy officer, resistance member and Engelandvaarder. He participated in several resistance operations and is one of the most highly decorated Dutch resistance members.
WLieutenant-Colonel Dr. (Dent.) Edouard "Eddy" Blondeel DSO was the wartime commander of the Belgian 5th SAS. After the war he was first C.O. of the 1st Regiment of Parachutists. He retired from the army in 1947 to work as an engineer with Wiggins Teape.
WAntonie Hendrikus Colijn was a Dutch amateur mountaineer who in 1936 led the Carstensz Expedition, being the first to climb the Carstenszgebergte in New Guinea.
WMaria Catharina van Grunsven (1918–2004), also known as Riet van Grunsven or Riet van de Haterd-van Grunsven, was an armed member of the Dutch Resistance during World War II. One of 21 people who became “line crossers,” special agents who helped to maintain a secret connection between occupied and liberated Netherlands across the waterways of the Biesbosch and the Merwede, she operated as a courier for part of the larger Biesbosch resistance group, and the Albrecht intelligence group. During this resistance work, she was given the aliases “Ice Block” and “Trouble.”
WGiovanni Narcissus Hakkenberg was a Dutch marine of Indo-European descent, and decorated war hero and knight of the Military Order of William. The Military William Order is the highest honour in the Netherlands, bestowed for "performing excellent acts of Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty in battle".
WHenri Johan "Hans" de Koster was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman.
WMajor General Roy Ernest Lindquist was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer. He saw service during World War II and is most noted for his leadership of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) during the campaign in Western Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.
WBrigadier Edmund Charles Wolf Myers, more commonly known as Eddie, was a British Army officer who fought in World War II. Myers was an officer in the Royal Engineers.
WSilas Ayari Donrai Papare was a Papuan–Indonesian politician and guerilla leader who is a National Hero of Indonesia.
WRobert Frederick Sink was a senior United States Army officer who fought during World War II, and the Korean War though he was most famous for his command of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division, throughout most of World War II, in France, Holland and Belgium.
WStanisław Franciszek Sosabowski CBE was a Polish general in World War II. He fought in the Polish Campaign of 1939 and at the Battle of Arnhem (Netherlands) in 1944 as commander of the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade.
WGeneral Simon Hendrik Spoor was the Chief of Staff of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and the Royal Dutch Army in the Dutch East Indies, from 1946 to 1949, during the Indonesian National Revolution.
WBram van der Stok,, also known as Bob van der Stok, was a World War II fighter pilot and flying ace, and is the most decorated aviator in Dutch history.
WLieutenant Colonel Gijs Pepijn Tuinman is an officer of the Royal Netherlands Army. Tuinman is one of the only four living knights of the very exclusive Military Order of William, the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
WMajor-General Robert Elliott "Roy" Urquhart CB DSO was a British Army officer who saw service during World War II and Malayan Emergency. He became prominent for his role as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 1st Airborne Division which fought with great distinction, although suffering very severe casualties, in the Battle of Arnhem during Operation Market Garden in September 1944.
WBenjamin Hayes "Vandy" Vandervoort was an officer of the United States Army, who fought in World War II. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was portrayed by John Wayne in the 1962 war film The Longest Day.
WWillem Frederick August (Gus) Winckel was a Dutch military officer and pilot who flew for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force (ML-KNIL) in World War II. During the attack on Broome, Western Australia, on 3 March 1942, Winckel managed to land his plane full of refugees safely on the Broome airstrip just before the Japanese attack. He then dismounted the plane's machine gun and shot down one of the Japanese fighters, the only Allied "kill" during the attack.