

WWII military medals & decorations – Honors These devices approximate in function the Fourragére, the famous braided shoulder cord awarded by the French to members of all U.S. ‘Two other unique awards have also been set up recently: the Army’s Organization Blue Unit Citation and the Navy’s Presidential Unit Citation, each a ribbon which denotes that the wearer belongs to some unit of the armed forces which has been twice cited by the President. The Army - established a Good Conduct Medal to round out its list of awards for its own personnel.įinally, Congress authorized a Medal for Merit (design not yet approved) as the civilian counterpart of the Legion of Merit and, for the first time in history, two more awards intended specifically for merchant seamen, the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal and the Torpedoed Seaman Bar.
#Us military insignia half wing and wheel series#
The Legion of Merit will also be given to the military personnel of friendly foreign nations.Ī series of service medals, including the American Defense Service Medal, the Army of Occupation of Germany (1918-1923) Medal, and the campaign medals for the three theaters of the global war - American European-African-Middle Eastern, and Asiatic-Pacific - was also designed for both the Army and the Navy.įurther, the Navy adopted for its own use two established Army decorations, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, and authorized one new medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal (design not yet approved) for its own a branches. Two of the new decorations - the Legion of Merit and the Air Medal - were created for the personnel of both armed services.

Today, servicemen, many of them back from combat duty in foreign theaters of war, are beginning to appear on the streets of our towns and cities with bright new ribbons displayed on their chests, each one of them telling a story about its wearer, if you can interpret its meaning. 8, 1939, when President Roosevelt declared a state of national emergency to exist, no less than 17 new medals and ribbons have been authorized for award by the President or high officials of the armed forces. Popular Science Monthly presents these new honors, and the principal older ones.īy Bernard Wolf / Photography by Robert F Smith Our soldiers and sailors now may win seventeen new decorations and service medals - all adopted since the war emergency. WWII military medals: These are the badges of courage (1943)
