13-497: The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The World War II Victory Medal was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The medal
26-423: A cadet or midshipman at the U.S. Military Academy , the U.S. Naval Academy or the U.S. Coast Guard Academy between 3 September 1945 and any date in 1946, receiving the medal without having been a veteran of the period of active hostilities during the war; the reason for this late date is that President Harry S. Truman did not declare an official end to hostilities until the last day of 1946. As every member of
39-673: A creditable manner. Service medals are sometimes also campaign medals . Two of the service medals issued by the United States Armed Forces are the National Defense Service Medal (further granting suspended at the end of 2022) and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal . The National Defense Service Medal is normally issued to anyone who was called to active service during specific time periods. The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
52-424: A geographical theater . Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a higher status as the award usually involves deployment to a foreign region or service in a combat zone. Campaign medals were first invented to recognize general military service in war, in contrast to meritorious decorations which were only issued on a small scale for acts of heroism and bravery. The campaign were first issued by
65-625: Is awarded to any active duty member of the United States military providing support for anti-terrorism operations for 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days unless killed or wounded in the line of duty. The term "support" is interpreted very broadly. The Special Service Medal is a military service medal of the Indian Armed Forces . The Special Service Medal is awarded under active service conditions for minor operations or operations of short duration. Clasps are awarded with
78-628: The United States Armed Forces who served from 7 December 1941 to 31 December 1946 was eligible for the medal, there were over twelve million eligible recipients, making the World War II Victory Medal the second most widely awarded military award of the United States, after the National Defense Service Medal . The bronze medal is 1 1 ⁄ 2 inches in width. The obverse is a figure of Liberation standing full length with head turned to dexter looking to
91-662: The United States military, including members of the armed forces of the Government of the Philippine Islands , who served on active duty, or as a reservist, between 7 December 1941 and the ending of hostilities as declared by the president. On 8 August 1946, the separate Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal was established for members of the United States Merchant Marine who served during World War II. The World War II Victory Medal
104-468: The dawn of a new day, right foot resting on a war god's helmet with the hilt of a broken sword in the right hand and the broken blade in the left hand, the inscription WORLD WAR II placed immediately below the center. On the reverse are inscriptions for the Four Freedoms : FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND WANT and FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION separated by a palm branch, all within a circle composed of
117-496: The medal indicating the particular operation for which it is awarded. For subsequent operations where the clasp is approved, only the Clasp denoting the particular operation is awarded. The name of the operation's location is inscribed on the clasp's bar. Campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in
130-543: The ribbon is a miniature of the pattern used in the World War I Victory Medal . Although the World War I Victory Medal included clasps , the World War II Victory Medal did not. This was because campaign medals were awarded instead. Service medal A service medal is an award to individuals who participated in designated wars, campaigns, or expeditions, or who have fulfilled specific service requirements in
143-496: The words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1941 1945 . The suspension and service ribbon of the medal is 1 3 ⁄ 8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes: 3 ⁄ 8 inch double rainbow in juxtaposition (blues, greens, yellows, reds (center), yellows greens and blues); 1 ⁄ 32 inch White 67101; center 9 ⁄ 16 inch Old Glory Red 67156; 1 ⁄ 32 inch White; and 3 ⁄ 8 inch double rainbow in juxtaposition. The rainbow on each side of
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#1732787734372156-510: Was awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive, with no minimum time in service requirement. The National Personnel Records Center has reported some cases of service members receiving the award for only a few days of service. As hostilities during the Second World War ended on 2 September 1945, there may be cases of service members who had enlisted, entered officer candidate school, or had been
169-462: Was designed by Thomas H. Jones and approved by the Secretary of War on 5 February 1946. Consequently, it did not transition from a ribbon to a full medal until after World War II had ended. The World War II Victory Medal was first issued as a service ribbon , referred to as the "Victory Ribbon." The Congressional authorization for the medal specified that it was to be awarded to any member of
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