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World War II Service Medals (Warning: It's long)
BillJones
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In honor of Memorial day here is an essay I wrote for my local club that covers the service medals that were awarded to those who served during World War II.
Tom Brokaw called them "The Greatest Generation." Many of us call them "father and mother," "grandfather and grandmother," and now "great grandfather and great grandmother." As the passing of time push their heroic deeds further back into the pages of history, there is a series of military medals that provide us with tangible reminders of how they saved us from scourge of world domination by the Axis and Japan. Today we call those tangible reminders "World War II service medals." On a more informal basis we could call them "every man's World War II medals" because the U.S. Government awarded them to almost all of the 16 million men and women who served in the armed forces during the war era.
The American Defense Meal
Although most Americans associate the beginning of World War II with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the war actually began a couple years before that for the American armed forces. On September 8, 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt declared a Limited Emergency Proclamation which coincided with the German attack on Poland just a week before that presidential action. On May 27, 1941 Roosevelt expanded his declaration to an Unlimited Emergency Proclamation. By this time the Axis powers had gained control of Europe. The Germans had conquered France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and the rest of Europe was allied with or under the control of Germany with the exception of the Swiss who were neutral.
The U.S. military involvement under the Limited Emergency in Roosevelt's words "imposes on the United States certain duties with respect to the proper observance , safeguarding and enforcement of its neutral status and the strengthening of the national defense with the limits of peacetime authorizations." Cutting though the verbiage this presidential proclamation authorized the armed services to increase their enlisted manpower and call up the reserves to active duty. The Unlimited Emergency Proclamation expanded the armed forces mandate "to be put on a basis of readiness to repel any and all threats of aggression directed toward any part of the Western Hemisphere."
On June 28, 1941 President Roosevelt authorized the American Defense Medal under Executive Order 8808. The medal was awarded to members of the military who were on active duty between September 8, 1939 and December 7, 1941. All members of the Army received the medal if they were on active duty for one year or more during the eligibility period. All members of the other services (Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard) received the medal for any length of service except reservists who served for less than ten days.
The obverse design of the medal featured a full figure of Ms. Liberty in a long dress wearing a Liberty cap, bearing a sword and a shield. The reverse displayed words to the effect that the medal was issued to acknowledge service during the Limited and Unlimited Emergency Proclamations. The medal was suspended on a yellow ribbon with two thin red, white and blue stripes.
The American World War II Service Medals
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 rendered the American Defense medal instantly obsolete. From that time on the United States was at war, and the era of passive defense activities had ended. During the First World War the War Department had issued a victory medal that had clasps added to the ribbon to denote the areas where a specific member of the military had served. For World War II, President Roosevelt decided to issue separate medals for of the three theaters: American, Asiatic-Pacific and European-African-Middle Eastern. Roosevelt authorized all three medals by Executive Order 9265 on November 6, 1942.
Each of the three medals had a distinctive obverse design with a common reverse motif of an American eagle that was designed by Adolph Weinman. Weinman is best known to American collectors for his designs for the Mercury dime and the Walking Liberty half dollar. Thomas Hudson Jones designed the obverses of the medals, which were 1 and a quarter inches in diameter. The Asiatic-Pacific and European-African-Middle Eastern medals were award to all members of the armed forces who served in those theaters. The requirements for receiving the American Campaign medal were more restricted, and will be explained below. The service ribbons for all of the medals were issued during the war, but the medals were awarded in 1947.
The American Campaign Medal
This medal was awarded to all service personnel who served in the American Theater from December 7, 1941 to March 2, 1946. The American Theater was defined as the entirety of The United States, most of the Atlantic Ocean, part of Alaska and a small part of the Pacific Ocean bordering California and Baja California. The service term was at least one consecutive year within the borders of The United States or 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days outside of the U.S. border.
The obverse featured a Navy cruiser underway and a B-24 Liberator bomber flying overhead. An enemy submarine is shown sinking in the foreground, the skyline of city in the extreme background and the words, "American Campaign" above.
The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
The medal features a combat scene with American soldiers landing on what appears to a Pacific island. There are palm trees in the behind them and various air and naval assets in the background. The words "Asiatic Pacific Campaign" appear above this scene.
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
This medal features a scene inspired by the D-Day landings. Troops are pictured in the foreground with a landing craft behind them. An airplane and another landing craft appears in the background. The scene is identified by the phrase, "European African Middle Eastern Campaign." Although this combination of regions may seem odd on the surface, in reality to operation to liberate Europe began with the North African campaign against the Germans in June 1940 and continued until its successful completion in May 1943. This led to the invasion of Italy in September 1943 and ultimately the D-Day operation in June 1944.
The World War II Victory Medal
This medal was authorized by an act of Congress in July 1945. It should be noted that the Germans had been defeated at this point, but the war with Japan was continuing. It was awarded to any member of the United States military, including the Government of the Philippine Islands, which was a U.S. territory at that time.
The obverse features Nike, the Greek the goddess of victory, holding the two parts of a broken sword in her hands. Her right foot rests upon the helmet of Mars, the god of war, and a rising sun appears in the background symbolizing the dawn of peace.
The reverse design is surrounded by the legend, "United • States • of • America • 1941 • 1945 •." The center of the design recalls the "Four Freedoms," which President Franklin Roosevelt define in his 1941 State of the Union Address before the U.S. became involved in the Second World War. Roosevelt defined the freedom of speech and religion and the freedom from want and fear as four basic freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" should enjoy. A laurel, symbolic of victory, appears at the center of the design.
Although military medals have not traditionally held a major place in the cabinets of numismatic collectors, they nevertheless represent an important and interesting part of our national heritage.
Tom Brokaw called them "The Greatest Generation." Many of us call them "father and mother," "grandfather and grandmother," and now "great grandfather and great grandmother." As the passing of time push their heroic deeds further back into the pages of history, there is a series of military medals that provide us with tangible reminders of how they saved us from scourge of world domination by the Axis and Japan. Today we call those tangible reminders "World War II service medals." On a more informal basis we could call them "every man's World War II medals" because the U.S. Government awarded them to almost all of the 16 million men and women who served in the armed forces during the war era.
The American Defense Meal
Although most Americans associate the beginning of World War II with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the war actually began a couple years before that for the American armed forces. On September 8, 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt declared a Limited Emergency Proclamation which coincided with the German attack on Poland just a week before that presidential action. On May 27, 1941 Roosevelt expanded his declaration to an Unlimited Emergency Proclamation. By this time the Axis powers had gained control of Europe. The Germans had conquered France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and the rest of Europe was allied with or under the control of Germany with the exception of the Swiss who were neutral.
The U.S. military involvement under the Limited Emergency in Roosevelt's words "imposes on the United States certain duties with respect to the proper observance , safeguarding and enforcement of its neutral status and the strengthening of the national defense with the limits of peacetime authorizations." Cutting though the verbiage this presidential proclamation authorized the armed services to increase their enlisted manpower and call up the reserves to active duty. The Unlimited Emergency Proclamation expanded the armed forces mandate "to be put on a basis of readiness to repel any and all threats of aggression directed toward any part of the Western Hemisphere."
On June 28, 1941 President Roosevelt authorized the American Defense Medal under Executive Order 8808. The medal was awarded to members of the military who were on active duty between September 8, 1939 and December 7, 1941. All members of the Army received the medal if they were on active duty for one year or more during the eligibility period. All members of the other services (Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard) received the medal for any length of service except reservists who served for less than ten days.
The obverse design of the medal featured a full figure of Ms. Liberty in a long dress wearing a Liberty cap, bearing a sword and a shield. The reverse displayed words to the effect that the medal was issued to acknowledge service during the Limited and Unlimited Emergency Proclamations. The medal was suspended on a yellow ribbon with two thin red, white and blue stripes.
The American World War II Service Medals
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 rendered the American Defense medal instantly obsolete. From that time on the United States was at war, and the era of passive defense activities had ended. During the First World War the War Department had issued a victory medal that had clasps added to the ribbon to denote the areas where a specific member of the military had served. For World War II, President Roosevelt decided to issue separate medals for of the three theaters: American, Asiatic-Pacific and European-African-Middle Eastern. Roosevelt authorized all three medals by Executive Order 9265 on November 6, 1942.
Each of the three medals had a distinctive obverse design with a common reverse motif of an American eagle that was designed by Adolph Weinman. Weinman is best known to American collectors for his designs for the Mercury dime and the Walking Liberty half dollar. Thomas Hudson Jones designed the obverses of the medals, which were 1 and a quarter inches in diameter. The Asiatic-Pacific and European-African-Middle Eastern medals were award to all members of the armed forces who served in those theaters. The requirements for receiving the American Campaign medal were more restricted, and will be explained below. The service ribbons for all of the medals were issued during the war, but the medals were awarded in 1947.
The American Campaign Medal
This medal was awarded to all service personnel who served in the American Theater from December 7, 1941 to March 2, 1946. The American Theater was defined as the entirety of The United States, most of the Atlantic Ocean, part of Alaska and a small part of the Pacific Ocean bordering California and Baja California. The service term was at least one consecutive year within the borders of The United States or 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days outside of the U.S. border.
The obverse featured a Navy cruiser underway and a B-24 Liberator bomber flying overhead. An enemy submarine is shown sinking in the foreground, the skyline of city in the extreme background and the words, "American Campaign" above.
The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
The medal features a combat scene with American soldiers landing on what appears to a Pacific island. There are palm trees in the behind them and various air and naval assets in the background. The words "Asiatic Pacific Campaign" appear above this scene.
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
This medal features a scene inspired by the D-Day landings. Troops are pictured in the foreground with a landing craft behind them. An airplane and another landing craft appears in the background. The scene is identified by the phrase, "European African Middle Eastern Campaign." Although this combination of regions may seem odd on the surface, in reality to operation to liberate Europe began with the North African campaign against the Germans in June 1940 and continued until its successful completion in May 1943. This led to the invasion of Italy in September 1943 and ultimately the D-Day operation in June 1944.
The World War II Victory Medal
This medal was authorized by an act of Congress in July 1945. It should be noted that the Germans had been defeated at this point, but the war with Japan was continuing. It was awarded to any member of the United States military, including the Government of the Philippine Islands, which was a U.S. territory at that time.
The obverse features Nike, the Greek the goddess of victory, holding the two parts of a broken sword in her hands. Her right foot rests upon the helmet of Mars, the god of war, and a rising sun appears in the background symbolizing the dawn of peace.
The reverse design is surrounded by the legend, "United • States • of • America • 1941 • 1945 •." The center of the design recalls the "Four Freedoms," which President Franklin Roosevelt define in his 1941 State of the Union Address before the U.S. became involved in the Second World War. Roosevelt defined the freedom of speech and religion and the freedom from want and fear as four basic freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" should enjoy. A laurel, symbolic of victory, appears at the center of the design.
Although military medals have not traditionally held a major place in the cabinets of numismatic collectors, they nevertheless represent an important and interesting part of our national heritage.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
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Comments
great write up and very appropriate.
I have several of these medals in a case (or should I say, I have several of my father's medals in a case).
He served in the USMC from 1942 to 1962 and had a fair amount of hardware upon his retirement.
When he passed away, I took the medals and put them into a case that is displayed upon the wall at the top of our staircase.
The more modern military decorations don't have a large collector following, but they are interesting additions for those of us who collect exonumia.
bob
I remain surprised that the WWII items such as these do not have a greater following.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
<< <i>Great write up-well done.
I remain surprised that the WWII items such as these do not have a greater following. >>
I think that since very few of the campaign medals have any naming, they are much easier than others to separate from the history/context of someone's grouping.
Also, I think the numbers made were tremendous, so they are quite common.
I REALLY liked it, as he lost everything when he was captured in Italy, and was imprisoned in Yugoslavia. When he was released, he was shipped back to the US and discharged.
I also bought him at a different time an inert 37mm antitank gun shell, as at one time, he had been on a 37mm AT gun crew.
A small piece of trivia, he, and 2 others, were captured on captured German Horses. Their company was a recon unit, and the commander, an old cavalry man, had everyone transferred out who could not ride. They are probably the last Americans captured on horseback.
As far as the actual medals, EBAY is rife with them, as most veterans of WWII have passed away, and the medals are sold for a pittance.
She was supposed to get an American Campaign Medal but never did.
I bought one for her in 2013 and gave it to her.
The medal obverse is fairly generic but the reverse has an eagle resembling the one on the $10 gold coin.
The reverse was designed by Adolph Alexander Weinman, who designed the Walking Liberty half dollar and the Mercury dime.
I posted the details then at:
http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=876991
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