Medal of Freedom

Medal of Freedom
Medal with palm device
Awarded by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, or the Secretary of the Navy
Country	United States
Type	Medal
Eligibility	Any person not a member of the armed forces of the United States
Awarded for	"A meritorious act or service which has aided the United States in the prosecution of a war against an enemy or enemies and for which an award of another United States medal or decoration is considered inappropriate"
Status	Replaced 22 February 1963 by Presidential Medal of Freedom
Statistics
First awarded	1946
Last awarded	1961
Total awarded	over 20,000
Precedence
Next (higher)	Medal for Merit
Next (lower)	unspecified
Ribbon bar of the medal

The Medal of Freedom was a decoration established by President Harry S. Truman to honor civilians whose actions aided in the war efforts of the United States and its allies. It was intended to be awarded by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, or the Secretary of the Navy, but it is known that Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy also authorized awards.

The medal is a bronze disc whose obverse features the profile bust facing left of an individual wearing a cap resembling an American bald eagle ornamented by stars, with the word "FREEDOM" in capital letters in an arc at the bottom of the disc. The reverse features the Liberty Bell surrounded by the words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in capital letters. The medal is suspended on a red ribbon with four thin white stripes. The original establishing the medal specified "No more than one Medal of Freedom shall be awarded to any one person, but for a subsequent act or service justifying such an award a suitable device may be awarded to be worn with the medal" and bronze, silver, and gold palm devices were produced and awarded, but there is no evidence of U.S. citizens having received these palm devices, whereas non-U.S. citizens did receive quite a number of them, and these devices have been interpreted as signifying degrees of the award.

Without palm

With bronze palm

With silver palm

With gold palm