World War II Pacific Service Medal - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-15

The Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal is a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

military award of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, which was awarded to any member of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

who served in the

Asiatic-Pacific Theater The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were in the Pacific. The Pacific ...

from 1941 to 1945. The medal was created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. The medal was designed by

Thomas Hudson Jones Thomas Hudson Jones (July 24, 1892 – November 4, 1969) was a U.S. sculptor for the Army's Institute of Heraldry. Biography Jones was born in Buffalo, New York. His father was an engraver and encouraged him from childhood to be a sculptor. He a ...

; the reverse side was designed by

Adolph Alexander Weinman Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was a Germany-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor. Early life and education Adolph Alexander Weinman was born December 11, 1870 at Durmersheim, near Karlsruhe, Germ ...

which is the same design as used on the reverse of the

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

and European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. There were 21 Army and 48 Navy-Marine Corps official campaigns of the Pacific Theater, denoted on the suspension and

service ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

of the medal by

service star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or se ...

s which also were called "battle stars"; some Navy construction battalion units issued the medal with

Arabic numeral Arabic numerals are the ten numerical digits: , , , , , , , , and . They are the most commonly used symbols to write decimal numbers. They are also used for writing numbers in other systems such as octal, and for writing identifiers such as ...

s. The

Arrowhead device The Arrowhead device is a miniature bronze arrowhead that may be worn on campaign, expedition, and service medals and ribbons to denote participation in an amphibious assault landing, combat parachute jump, helicopter assault landing, or combat g ...

is authorized for those campaigns which involved participation in amphibious assault landings. The

Fleet Marine Force Combat Operation Insignia The Fleet Marine Force Combat Operation Insignia is a miniature inch bronze United States Marine Corps emblem that may be authorized by the Secretary of the Navy for wear on specific campaign, expeditionary, and service medal ribbons issued to U ...

is also authorized for wear on the medal for Navy service members who participated in combat while assigned to a Marine Corps unit. The flag colors of the United States and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

are visible in the ribbon. The Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal was first issued as a service ribbon in 1942. A full medal was authorized in 1947, the first of which was presented to General of the Army

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

. The

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

equivalent of the medal was known as the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. Boundaries of Asiatic-Pacific Theater. (1) The eastern boundary is coincident with the western boundary of the American Theater. (2) The western boundary is from the North Pole south along the 60th meridian east longitude to its intersection with the east boundary of Iran, then south along the Iran boundary to the Gulf of Oman and the intersection of the 60th meridian east longitude, then south along the 60th meridian east longitude to the South Pole.

US Army campaigns

The 16 officially recognized US Army campaigns in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations are: * Pacific Ocean Areas Command: ** Central Pacific: 7 December 1941 – 6 December 1943, allied landings on Tarawa and Makin during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign ** Air Offensive Japan: 17 April 1942 – 2 September 1945 **

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

: 3 June 1942 – 24 August 1943, the Aleutian Islands campaign ** Northern Solomons: 22 February 1943 – 21 November 1944, part of the

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, ...

** Eastern Mandates: 31 January - 14 June 1944, allied landings on Kwajalein and

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign ** Western Pacific: 15 June 1944 – 2 September 1945, the

Mariana and Palau Islands campaign The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November 1944 du ...

Ryukyus The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

: 26 March - 2 July 1945, the allied landings on Okinawa * South West Pacific Areas Command: **

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

: 7 December 1941 – 10 May 1942, the Japanese conquest Philippines ** East Indies: 1 January - 22 July 1942, Japanese conquest of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

** Papua: 23 July 1942 – 23 January 1943, part of the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

: 7 August 1942 – 21 February 1943, the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

: 24 January 1943 – 31 December 1944, the

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km. History The first inhabitants o ...

: 15 December 1943 – 27 November 1944 **

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

: 17 October 1944 – 1 July 1945, allied landings and liberation of Leyte **

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

: 15 December 1944 – 4 July 1945, allied landings and liberation of Luzon **

Southern Philippines Mindanao ( ) (Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: مينداناو) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the ...

: 27 February - 4 July 1945, allied liberation of the Southern Philippines during the Philippines campaign

US Navy - Marine Corps campaigns

The 43 officially recognized US Navy campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations are: * Pearl Harbor:

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

- Midway: 7 December 1941 *

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of To ...

: 8–23 December 1941 * Philippine Islands operation: 8 December 1941 – 6 May 1942 * Netherlands East Indies engagements: 23 January – 27 February 1942 * Pacific raids (1942): 1 February – 10 March 1942 *

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

: 4–8 May 1942 * Midway: 3–6 June 1942 *

- Tulagi landings: 7–9 August 1942 (First Savo) * Capture and defense of Guadalcanal: 10 August 1942 – 8 February 1943 *

Makin Raid The Raid on Makin Island (17–18 August 1942) was an attack by the United States Marine Corps Raiders on Japanese military forces on Makin Island (now known as Butaritari) in the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to destroy Imperial Japanese inst ...

: 17–18 August 1942 * Eastern Solomons: 23–25 August 1942 * Buin-Faisi-Tonolai raid: 5 October 1942 *

Cape Esperance Cape Esperance () is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. History The Battle of Cape Esperance, one of several naval engagements fought in the waters north of the island during the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, took its ...

: 11–12 October 1942 (Second Savo) *

Santa Cruz Islands The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...

: 26 October 1942 *

: 12–15 November 1942 (Third Savo) * Tassafaronga: 30 November – 1 December 1942 (Fourth Savo) * Eastern New Guinea operation: 17 December 1942 – 24 July 1944 * Rennel Island: 29–30 January 1943 * Consolidation of Solomon Islands: 8 February 1943 – 15 March 1945 * Aleutians operation: 26 March – 2 June 1943 * New Georgia Group operation: 20 June – 16 October 1943 * Bismarck Archipelago operation: 25 June 1943 – 1 May 1944 * Pacific raids (1943): 31 August – 6 October 1943 *

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

- Bougainville operation: 27 October – 15 December 1943 * Gilbert Islands operation: 13 November – 8 December 1943 * Marshall Islands operation: 26 November 1943 – 2 March 1944 * Asiatic-Pacific raids (1944): 16 February – 9 October 1944 * Western New Guinea operations: 21 April 1944 – 9 January 1945 * Marianas operation: 10 June – 27 August 1944 * Western Caroline Islands operation: 31 August – 14 October 1944 * Leyte operation: 10 October – 29 November 1944 * Luzon operation: 12 December 1944 – 1 April 1945 * Iwo Jima operation 15 February – 16 March 1945 * Okinawa Gunto operation: 17 March – 30 June 1945 * Third Fleet operations against Japan: 10 July – 15 August 1945 * Kurile Islands operation: 1 February 1944 – 11 August 1945 * Borneo operations: 27 April – 20 July 1945 * Tinian capture and occupation: 24 July – 1 August 1944 * Consolidation of the Southern Philippines: 28 February – 20 July 1945 * Hollandia operation: 21 April – 1 June 1944 * Manila Bay-Bicol operations: 29 January – 16 April 1945 * Escort, antisubmarine, armed guard and special operations: 7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945 * Submarine War Patrols (Pacific): 7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945

Other campaigns

For members of the U.S. military who did not receive campaign credit, but still served on active duty in the Pacific Theater, the following “blanket” campaigns are authorized for which the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal is awarded without service stars. * Antisubmarine December 7, 1941 – September 2, 1945 * Ground Combat: December 7, 1941 – September 2, 1945 * Air Combat: December 7, 1941 – September 2, 1945

References

External links

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - Criteria, Background, and ImagesUS Army TACOM, Clothing and Insignia PSID, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal United States campaign medals Works by Adolph Weinman Military awards and decorations of World War II Awards disestablished in 1946 Awards established in 1942 Pacific theatre of World War II

US Army campaigns

US Navy - Marine Corps campaigns

Other campaigns

See also

References

External links