Pacific Star
| The Pacific Star | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India | |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Type | Military campaign medal |
| Eligibility | All Ranks |
| Awarded for | Different for sea and land service |
| Campaign(s) | Pacific 1941–1945 |
| Clasps | BURMA |
| Statistics | |
| Established | May 1945 |
| Order of wear | |
| Next (higher) | Africa Star |
| Next (lower) | Burma Star |
| Related | Burma Star |
  Ribbon bar without and with Burma Clasp rosette |
|
The Pacific Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to subjects of the British Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, specifically in the Pacific Campaign from 1941 to 1945.
One clasp, the Burma Clasp, was instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon.
Altogether eight campaign stars and nine clasps were initially instituted for campaign service during the Second World War. On 8 July 1943, the 1939–1945 Star and the Africa Star were the first two of these Stars to be instituted. One more campaign star, the Arctic Star, and one more clasp, the Bomber Command Clasp, were belatedly added on 26 February 2013, more than sixty-seven years after the end of the war.
Only one of these campaign stars, the 1939–1945 Star, covered the full duration of the Second World War from its outbreak on 3 September 1939 to the victory over Japan on 2 September 1945.
No-one could be awarded more than five (now six) campaign stars and no-one could be awarded more than one clasp to any one campaign star. Five of the nine (now ten) clasps were the equivalents of their namesake campaign stars and were awarded for the same respective campaigns as those stars, to be worn on the ribbon of that campaign star of the applicable group that had been earned first. The maximum of six possible campaign stars are the following:
At the same time as the Second World War campaigns against the Axis Forces in Africa and Italy, British and American forces were also fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. This campaign began on 8 December 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, and took place in the sea and air of the Pacific Ocean as well as on the ground, with the Allies defending Malaya and Singapore against Japanese invasion.
Japanese forces quickly gained superiority in the Pacific and managed to invade Malaya, Singapore, Burma and the Philippines with relative ease. The campaign on land ended in Allied defeat on 15 February 1942, when Singapore fell and tens of thousands of servicemen were taken prisoner of war by the Japanese. The campaign at sea continued until 2 September 1945.
The Pacific Star was instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to those who had served in operations in the Pacific Campaign from 8 December 1941 to 2 September 1945, both dates inclusive.
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Wikipedia