American Campaign Medal

American Campaign Medal
American Campaign Medal
Awarded by Department of the Army Department of the Navy
Type	Service medal
Eligibility	served in the armed forces in the American theater area between the following dates: between December 7, 1941 and March 2, 1946
Status	Inactive
Statistics
First awarded	December 7, 1941
Last awarded	March 2, 1946
Precedence
Equivalent	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
Next (lower)	World War II Victory Medal
American Campaign Medal service ribbon and streamer

served in the armed forces in the American theater area between the following dates:

The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by Executive Order issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had performed military service in the American Theater of Operations during World War II. A similar medal, known as the American Defense Service Medal was awarded for active duty service prior to the United States entry into World War II.

The American Campaign Medal was established per Executive Order 9265,6 November 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and announced in War Department Bulletin 56, 1942. The criteria was 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 was 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 a service ribbon only during the Second World War, and wasn't issued as a full-sized medal until 1947.

The first recipient of the American Campaign Medal was General of the Army George C. Marshall, Jr.

The requirements for the American Campaign Medal were for service within the American Theater between 7 December 1941 and 2 March 1946 under any of the following conditions:

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 77th parallel north latitude, thence southeast through Davis Strait to the intersection of the 40th parallel north latitude and the 35th meridian west longitude, thence south along the meridian to the 10th parallel north latitude, thence southeast to the intersection of the Equator and the 20th meridian west longitude, thence south along the 20th meridian west longitude to the South Pole.