10 U.S.C. § 8298 — Limitations of time

(a) Except as allowed by section 8296 of this title or subsection (b), no medal of honor, Navy cross, distinguished-service medal, silver star medal, Navy and Marine Corps Medal, or substitute bar, emblem, or insignia may be awarded to a person unless: (1) the award is made within five years after the act or service that justifies it; and (2) a statement describing the act or service, and recommending official recognition, was made by the person's superior through official channels within three years of that act or service. (b) If the Secretary of the Navy determines that (1) such a statement was in fact made through official channels within three years, and was backed by enough evidence within that time, and (2) no award was made only because the statement was lost or the recommendation was never acted on through inadvertence — then the medal, cross, or bar, emblem, or insignia may still be awarded, within two years after the date of that determination.