The Korean Service Medal (KSM) is a military award for service in the United States Armed Forces and was established November 8, 1950 by

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

President Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. The Korean Service Medal is the primary US military award for service or participation in operations in the Korean area between June 27, 1950 and July 27, 1954.

Medal devices

Service stars

The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

declared thirteen official campaigns of the Korean War, all of which are annotated by

service stars 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 ser ...

on the Korean Service Medal. Some campaigns apply to all branches of the US military, while others are branch specific. The Korean Service Medal is authorized a 3/16" bronze or silver (indicates five campaigns) service star to denote participation in any of the following campaigns: * North Korean Aggression (USMC, Navy): June 27 to November 2, 1950 * United Nations Defensive (Army, USAF): June 27 to September 15, 1950 * Inchon Landing (USMC, Navy): September 13 to 17, 1950 * United Nations Offensive (Army, USAF): September 16 to November 2, 1950 * Chinese Communist Forces Intervention (Army, USAF): November 3, 1950 to January 24, 1951 * Communist China Aggression (USMC, Navy): November 3, 1950 to January 24, 1951 * First United Nations Counteroffensive (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): January 25 to April 21, 1951 * Chinese Communist Forces Spring Offensive (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): April 22 to July 8, 1951 * United Nations Summer-Fall Offensive (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): July 9 to November 27, 1951 * Second Korean Winter (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): November 28, 1951 to April 30, 1952 * Korean Defense Summer-Fall, 1952 (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): May 1 to November 30, 1952 * Third Korean Winter (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): December 1, 1952 to April 30, 1953 * Korea, Summer 1953 (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): May 1 to July 27, 1953

Arrowhead device

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 gl ...

is authorized for US Army or Air Force personnel to denote participation in each of the following: * Amphibious landing at

Inchon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

* Airborne attacks on Sukch'on-Such'on and Musan

Fleet Marine Force combat operation insignia

* 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 authorized for US Navy personnel who served with the Marine Corps at any time during the Korean War.

History

Although the

Korean War Armistice The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전협정; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a complete cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United Sta ...

ended combat operations in Korea on 27 July 1953, the Korean Service Medal was issued until June 1954 due to the tense nature of the occupation and garrison duty immediately after the armistice, as well as the high possibility of a renewed attack by

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. After 1954, the Korean Service Medal was no longer issued although the

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, after ...

was authorized for Korean area service between October 1, 1966 to June 30, 1974. As of 2004, a new medal known as the

Korea Defense Service Medal The Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces that was first created in 2002 when it was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The bill to create the proposal was introduced and cham ...

was authorized for members of the armed forces who served in the defense of the Republic of Korea from July 28, 1954 to a date to be determined. The KSM was designed by the Army Heraldic Section. The color scheme of the ribbon is derived from the

Flag of the United Nations The flag of the United Nations consists of the emblem depicting the white azimuthal equidistant projection of the world map, centred on the North Pole, with two white olive branches placed on to its right and left, located on the sky blue backg ...

, as it was under the auspices of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(

United Nations Security Council Resolution 82 United Nations Security Council Resolution 82 was a measure adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on June 25, 1950. The resolution condemned the "armed attack on the Republic of Korea by forces from North Korea", while calling f ...

) that the war was conducted. The medal itself features a "Korean gateway," most likely an

iljumun Iljumun is the first gate at the entrance to many Korean Buddhist temples. Called the "One-Pillar Gate", because when viewed from the side the gate appears to be supported by a single pillar. Description The Iljumun is one of the three major ty ...

, on the front, and a

taegeuk ''Taegeuk'' (, ) is a Korean term cognate with the Chinese term ''Taiji'' ( Wade-Giles spelling: ''T'ai-chi''), meaning "supreme ultimate", although it can also be translated as "great polarity / duality". The symbol was chosen for the design ...

on the reverse. The United Nations Service Medal for Korea was usually issued alongside the Korean Service Medal. Beginning in 1999, the

Republic of Korea War Service Medal The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM, ko, 6.25사변종군기장, ), also known as the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM), is a military award of South Korea which was first authorized in December 1950. History 6.25 Incident Participati ...

was also awarded to United States service members who received the Korean Service Medal. The

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation () is a military unit award of the government of South Korea that may be presented to South Korean military units, and foreign military units for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic o ...

is retroactively authorized to any United States Army veteran who served in Korea during the War.

References

{{Authority control Awards established in 1950 Military awards and decorations of the Korean War Military history of the United States during the Korean War United States service medals