Campaign and Service Medals

First Style Ribbon 1907-1913

Second Style Ribbon 1913-

The Civil War Campaign Medal was authorized in 1905, however it was not until 1907 that a design was approved. The Civil War Campaign Medal was authorized for active federal service between April 15, 1861 and April 9, 1865, or for service in Texas between April 15, 1861 and August 20, 1866. The original ribbon, with its red, white and blue stripes, was changed in 1913 to match the Navy/USMC ribbon which used two equal blue and gray stripes.

The Civil War Campaign Medal for Navy and Marine Corps personnel was authorized in 1908. While the Navy had issued medals in 1899 to commemorate naval actions during the Spanish American war, the Civil War Campaign Medal was the first federal campaign medal authorized for Navy and Marine Corps personnel.

First Style Ribbon 1907-1913

Second Style Ribbon 1913-

The Indian Campaign Medal was authorized in 1905 and the final design approved in 1907. The Indian Campaign Medal recognizes active federal service in 10 specific campaigns between 1865 and 1891 or any action against hostile Indians, between those dates, in which US troops were killed or wounded.

The West Indies Campaign Medal was authorized in 1908 for Navy and Marine Corps personnel who participated in the West Indies Naval Campaign. The veterans of this campaign had previously been awarded the "Sampson Medal." However, the Sampson Medal was a commemorative medal, and although authorized by Congress, it was not a federal campaign medal.

The West Indies Campaign Medal was replaced by the Spanish Campaign Medal in 1910.

First Style Ribbon 1905 - 1913

Second Style Ribbon 1913 -

The Army Spanish Campaign Medal was established in 1905 and awarded for service ashore or on the high seas enroute to any of the following:

Cuba - from 11 May to 17 July 1898. Puerto Rico - 24 July to 13 Aug. 1898. Philippines Islands - 30 June to 16 Aug. 1898.

The Navy and Marine Corps Spanish Campaign Medals were established in 1908 for issue to personnel who had participated in the Pacific Naval Campaign of the Spanish-American War.

In the early 1920's award criteria was relaxed to allow award to any member of the Navy or Marine Corps who had served during the Spanish-American War.

Navy and USMC campaign medals of this time period were distinguished by having reverses that were inscribed either "United States Navy" or "United States Marine Corps."

This medal was created by an Act of Congress in 1918 and was intended to recognize the service of Spanish-American War volunteers who did not meet the limited award criteria for the Spanish Campaign Medal.

Award criteria for the Spanish War Service Medal was 90 days active federal service between 20 April 1898 and 11 April 1899.

Originally issued only to members of the National Guard who served on active duty, award criteria were relaxed in the 1920s to include any person serving in the Army for the qualifying period.

The Army of Cuban Occupation Medal was established in 1915. It was primarily intended to recognize the service of personnel sent to Cuba after the close of hostilities. Award criteria required service in Cuba between 18 July 1898 and 20 May 1902. No length of service was stipulated.

The Puerto Rican Occupation Medal was authorized in 1919 for service in Puerto Rico between 14 August 1898 and 10 December 1898.

The Philippine Campaign Medal was originally authorized in War Department G.O. 5, in 1905 and later amended in 1913 . The medal was awarded for service in the Philippines in ten specific actions between 1899 and 1913.

First Style Ribbon 1908 - 1913

Second Style Ribbon 1913 -

The Philippine Campaign Medal for the Navy and Marine Corps was authorized in 1908. Eligibility was limited to service aboard 64 specific ships stationed in Philippine waters and service ashore at four stations between 1899 and 1906.

The Philippine Congressional Medal was authorized in 1906 to recognize those Army volunteers who joined between April and October 1899 and served ashore in the Philippine Islands between 1899 and 1902.

Authorized in 1905 by War Department G.O. 5. The China Campaign Medal was awarded for service in China with the Peking Relief Expedition between June 20, 1900 and May 27, 1901.

First Style Ribbon 1908 - 1913

Second Style Ribbon 1913 -

Authorized in 1908 for service ashore in China or on 11 specific ships stationed in Chinese waters with the Peking Relief Expedition between June 20, 1900 and May 27, 1901.

War Department G.O. 96 of 1909 authorized the Army of Cuban Pacification Medal. Army personnel stationed in Cuba between October 1906 and April 1909 were qualified for award of the medal.

Navy and Marine Corps personnel were authorized their own version of the Cuban Pacification Medal in August 1909. Navy and Marine Corps personnel serving ashore in Cuba between October 1906 and April 1909 or aboard 24 specific ships operating in Cuban waters between September 1906 and April 1909 qualified for award of the medal.

Also called the First Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, the Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912) was authorized for Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served ashore or aboard eight specific ships operating in Nicaraguan waters. Period of eligibility for the First Nicaraguan Campaign Medal was between July and November 1912.

The Mexican Service Medal was authorized in December 1917 to recognize the service of Regular Army personnel who participated in 9 specific actions or expeditions against Pancho Villa's Division del Norete between Nov. 1914 and Feb. 1917.

The Navy and Marine Corps version of the Mexican Service Medal was authorized in February 1918 for award to sailors and marines who served ashore or aboard 121 specific ships operating in Mexican waters. Time periods for eligibility were Apr. 21 to Nov. 26, 1914, and March 14, 1916 to Feb. 7, 1917.

Also called the First Haitian Campaign Medal, this medal was authorized in June 1917 for Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served ashore in Haiti or on 14 specific ships operating in Haitian waters between July 9 and Dec. 6, 1915.

The Mexican Border Service Medal was established in July 1918 to recognize the service of National Guard troops who were activated for service during the Mexican War for service on the Mexican Border between May 9, 1916 and March 24, 1917.

The Dominican Campaign Medal was issued to Navy and Marine Corps personnel for service ashore in Santo Domingo between May 16 and Dec. 4, 1916. Personnel aboard 26 specific ships operating in Dominican waters during the same period were also eligible.

This medal marked the beginning of a new era for the United States military. As a truly international cooperation, the World War 1 victory medal was similar in design for each of the Allied powers. Due to the large number of significant campaigns involved, the Army and Navy adopted a European approach to recognize the campaigns. Rather than individual medals, clasps were adopted for addition to the medal ribbon. There were 13 campaign (sometimes called battle) clasps plus a "Defensive Sector" clasp for the Army. The Navy authorized 19 service clasps. The Army allowed recipients to wear all the clasps they earned, while the Navy permitted only one clasp to be worn. Basic dates of eligibility for the medal alone were April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918.

First Style Ribbon 1941-1942

Second Style Ribbon 1942-

The Army of Occupation of Germany Medal was not established until November 1941. The medal was authorized to any member of the Army who served in Germany or Austria-Hungary between November 12, 1918 and July 11, 1923. Navy and Marine Corps personnel who were attached to shore duty under the qualifying conditions was also awarded the medal.

Also known as the Second Haitian Campaign, this medal was authorized for members of the Navy and Marine Corps who served in Haiti between April1,1919 and June 15, 1920.

The Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal was authorized in November 1929 for award to Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served in Nicaragua between August 27, 1926 and January 2, 1933.

The Yangtze Service Medal was authorized in April 1930 for award to Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served in China as part of the Yangtze River Patrol between September 3, 1926 and October 21, 1927 or March 1, 1930 and December 31, 1932. Members of the Army's 31^st Infantry also qualified and were awarded the medal with the Marine Corps reverse.

First Style Ribbon 1919-1962

Second Style Ribbon 1962-

The Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal was authorized in May 1919 but the final design was not approved until 1936. It is awarded to marines who participate in designated actions for which no campaign medal exists.

Prior to World War 2, participation in multiple expeditions was recognized by the addition of bronze numerals to the ribbon -- after that time, bronze campaign stars have been used.

The Navy Expeditionary Medal was authorized in August, 1936.It is awarded to sailors who participate in designated actions for which no campaign medal exists.

The China Service Medal was authorized in August, 1940. The medal was initially awarded for service between July 1927 and September 1939. A second period of eligibility was authorized from September 1945 to April 1957.

The American Defense Service Medal was authorized on February 28,1941 for award to members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty between September 8,1939 and December 7, 1941. Army requirements were one year of service while the Navy required only ten days to be eligible for award of the ADSM.

This medal was established on July 29,1943 and was awarded for service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps or Woman's Army Corps between July 10, 1942 and September 2, 1945.

Established on November 6, 1942, the American Campaign Medal was awarded for service in the American Theater as a regularly assigned member of a unit or vessel between December 7,1941 and March 2, 1946.

Often called the ETO (European Theater of Operations) Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was established on November 6, 1942 and awarded for service in the E-A-ME Theater as a regularly assigned member of a unit or vessel between December 7,1941 and November 8, 1945.

The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was authorized on November 6, 1942 for service in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater as a regularly assigned member of a unit or vessel between December 7,1941 and March 2, 1946.

Authorized by Congress on July 6, 1945, the World War II Victory Medal was awarded to any member of the Armed Forces who served at least one day of active federal service between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946.

The Army of Occupation Medal was authorized in 1946 for 30 days of qualifying service between May 9, 1945 and October 2, 1990.

Authorized in January 1948, the Navy Occupation Service Medal was awarded under much the same criteria as the Army of Occupation Medal.

Authorized in December 1942, the Typhus Commission Medal was awarded to members of the Army, Navy and U.S. Public Health Service for service on the Typhus Commission between 1942 and 1946.

Congress authorized the Medal for Humane Action on July 29, 1949 to recognize personnel who had serve at least 120 consecutive days in direct support of the Berlin Airlift between June 23, 1948 and May 12, 1949.

Service in the Korean War was recognized by Executive Order 10179 on November 8, 1950, which established the Korean Service Medal. Qualifying service was either 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days of service between June 27, 1950 and July 27, 1954.

The National Defense Service Medal was originally established on April 22, 1953. There have been three periods of qualifying service; the first was from June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1954, the second from January 1, 1961 to August 14, 1974, and the third from August 2, 1990 through November 30, 1995.

The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal was established on December 4, 1961 to recognize service during conflicts for which no other medal is authorized. Specific operations are designated as eligible for the AFEM. Qualifying service is 30 days continuous or 60 days nonconsecutive service in direct support of the operation.

The Vietnam Service Medal was established on July 8, 1965. Personnel eligible for the Vietnam Service Medal must have served between July 3, 1965 and March 28, 1973 and meet qualifying criteria.

The Southwest Asia Service Medal was authorized on March 15, 1991 for personnel servicing under qualifying conditions between August 2, 1990 and November 30, 1995.

The Antarctic Service Medal was established on July 7, 1960 for personnel supporting operations in the Antarctic between January 1, 1946 and a future date.

The Coast Guard established the Arctic Service Medal on May 20, 1976. However, qualifying service was made retroactive to January 1, 1946.

The Humanitarian Service Medal was established on January 19, 1977. Awarded to individuals for direct support of specifically designated humanitarian operations, eligibility was made retroactive to April 1975.

The Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal was established on January 9, 1993 to recognize military personnel who volunteer their time to civilian community events and organizations.

The Armed Forces Service Medal was established on January 13, 1996 to recognize service in significant operations that do not qualify for any other service medal.

$59.95 + $3.00 S/H in USA

John Strandberg

16162 SE Goose Hollow Drive

Clackamas, OR 97015 USA