| American Campaign Medal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Service medal |
| Presented by | Department of War andDepartment of the Navy |
| Eligibility | U.S. military service in the American Theater for at least 30 days outside the U.S. or 1 year inside the U.S. between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946. |
| Reverse |  |
| Status | Inactive |
| First award | December 7, 1941 |
| Final award | March 2, 1946 |
 .png) | |
| Precedence | |
| Equivalent | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal |
| Next (lower) | World War II Victory Medal |
TheAmerican Campaign Medal was amilitary award of theUnited States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, byExecutive Order9265 issued by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt.[1][2] The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had performed military service in theAmerican Theater of Operations duringWorld War II.[2] A similar medal, known as theAmerican Defense Service Medal was awarded for active duty service before the United States' entry into World War II.
The American Campaign Medal was established per Executive Order 9265 on 6 November 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and announced in War Department Bulletin 56, 1942. The criteria were initially announced in Department of the Army (DA) Circular 1, dated 1 January 1943, so that the ribbon could be authorized prior to design of the medal. The criteria for the medal were announced in DA Circular 84, dated 25 March 1948 and subsequently published in Army Regulation 600–65, dated 22 September 1948. The American Campaign Medal was issued as aservice ribbon only during the Second World War, and was not issued as a full-sized medal until 1947.[2]
The first recipient of the American Campaign Medal wasGeneral of the ArmyGeorge C. Marshall, Jr.[2]
In January 2020, the United States Air Force retroactively authorized the American Campaign streamer to fly from the flag of theCivil Air Patrol located at CAP National Headquarters,Maxwell Air Force Base,Alabama. The streamer recognizes CAP's involvement in coastal patrol operations between May and August 1943 while attached toArmy Air Forces Antisubmarine Command.[3]
The requirements for the American Campaign Medal were for service within the American Theater between 7 December1941 and 2 March 1946 under any of the following conditions:[1]
The boundaries of American Theater are as follows:The eastern boundary is located from the North Pole, south along the 75th meridian west longitude to the 77thparallel north latitude, thence southeast through Davis Strait to the intersection of the 40th parallel north latitude andthe 35th meridian west longitude, thence south along the meridian to the 10th parallel north latitude, thence southeastto the intersection of the Equator and the 20th meridian west longitude, thence south along the 20th meridian westlongitude to the South Pole.
The western boundary is located from the North Pole, south along the 141st meridian west longitude to the eastboundary of Alaska, thence south and southeast along the Alaska boundary to the Pacific Ocean, thence south along the130th meridian to its intersection with the 30th parallel north latitude, thence southeast to the intersection of theEquator and the 100th meridian west longitude, thence south to the South Pole.
The medal, made of bronze, is1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) inches wide. Theobverse was designed byThomas Hudson Jones. It shows a Navycruiserunderway with aB-24 Liberator bomber flying overhead. In the foreground is a sinking enemy submarine, and in the background is the skyline of a city. At the top of the medal are the wordsAMERICAN CAMPAIGN. The reverse of the medal, designed byAdolph Alexander Weinman, is the same design as used on the reverse of both theAsiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and theEuropean-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. It depicts an Americanbald eagle between the dates1941 – 1945 and the wordsUNITED STATES OF AMERICA.[2]
The ribbon is1+3⁄8 inches (35 mm) inches wide in oriental blue in the center is a1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) inch center stripe divided into thirds of old glory blue, white, and scarlet. Between the center and the edges are stripes of1⁄16 inch (1.6 mm) inch in white, black, scarlet and white. The blue color represents the Americas; the central blue, white and red stripes, taken from theAmerican Defense Service Medal ribbon, represents the continuance of American defense after Pearl Harbor. The white and black stripes represent the German part of the conflict on the Atlantic Coast, while the red and white stripes are for the Japanese colors and refer to that part of the conflict on the Pacific Coast.[2]
3/16 inchservice stars were authorized to service members who participated in combat withAxis forces within the American Theater. This primarily applied to those service members whose units participated in anti-U-boat patrols (Anti-submarine warfare) in theAtlantic.[4]
Participation in these escort, antisubmarine, armed guard, and special operations entitle recipients to one campaign star for each participation:[5]
| Navy Campaigns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A bronze service star is authorized for participation in the antisubmarine campaign. To qualify individuals must have been assigned to or attached to, and present for duty with, a unit with antisubmarine campaign credit.[2] These campaigns are not displayed as streamers on the Army flag.[6]
| Name of campaign | Start Date | End Date |
| Antisubmarine | 7 December 1941 | 2 September 1945 |
| Ground Combat | 7 December 1941 | 2 September 1945 |
| Air Combat | 7 December 1941 | 2 September 1945 |
Media related toAmerican Campaign Medal (United States) at Wikimedia CommonsUnited States campaign, expeditionary, and service medals | |
|---|---|
| 1862–1906 | |
| 1905–1921 | |
| 1911–1941 | |
| 1936–1945 | |
| 1942–1949 | |
| 1953–1999 |
|
| 2003–present | |
.png)
.png)
.svg)
.svg)
