WWI Italian War Merit Cross with Sword

I obtained this medal from an American source in a lot that included two war merit crosses, Italian reunification medal and an Italian Victory medal, all with ribbons cut to the same length and sewn at the ends with the same thread. I imagine they are from the same ancestor of an immigrant family, but we’ll never know.

The “Croce al Merito di Guerra” or War Merit Cross was instituted by King Victor Emanuel III on 19 January 1918. In 1922 a bronze sword with oakleaves was authorized on the ribbon of medals awarded for valor in the face of the enemy.

It was awarded to military personnel after one year of service in the trenches or elsewhere in contact with the enemy, to those wounded in combat, to those who received a promotion for war merit and to those who performed an act of valor which was considered insufficient for a higher award.

The obverse bears the royal cypher, the words "MERITO DI GVERRA" (War Merit) and a roman sword with point upward and oak leaves. The reverse bears a five pointed star with rays emanating from it. Records indicate 1,034,924 of the WWI crosses were issued.