The Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM) is a

military service medal The Military Service Medal german: Wehrdienstmedaille is a military medal awarded to members of the Military of Austria. It is awarded in three classes: gold, silver, and bronze depending on length of recognized service. Established in 1963, the me ...

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 ...

that was first created in 2002 when it was signed into law by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. The bill to create the proposal was introduced and championed by Rep.

Elton Gallegly Elton William Gallegly (born March 7, 1944) is a former U.S. Representative from California. A Republican, he last represented . He previously represented the 23rd and 21st Districts, and served from 1987 to 2013. He did not seek re-election in ...

(R-CA) and Sen.

Jeff Bingaman Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1983 to 2013, for 5 terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Chairman of Committee Outreac ...

(D-NM). Several designs for the medal were proposed; the selected design was done by John Sproston. Those awarded the medal are eligible for membership in the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

(VFW) as well as the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Criteria

The Korea Defense Service Medal is authorized for those members of the

who have served duty in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in support of the defense of the South Korean state after the signing of the

Korean Armistice Agreement 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 ...

. To qualify for the KDSM, a service member must have served at least thirty consecutive days in the South Korean theater. The medal is also granted for 60 non-consecutive days of service, which includes reservists on annual training in South Korea. Exceptions are made for the 30/60 days time requirement if a service member participated in a combat armed engagement, was wounded or injured in the line of duty requiring medical evacuation, or participated as a regularly assigned aircrew member in flying sorties which totaled more than 30 days of duty in South Korean airspace. In such cases, the KDSM is authorized regardless of time served in theater. The Korea Defense Service Medal is retroactive to the end of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and is granted to any service performed after July 28, 1954. The

National Personnel Records Center The National Personnel Records Center(s) (NPRC) is an agency of the National Archives and Records Administration, created in 1966. It is part of the United States National Archives federal records center system and is divided into two large Federa ...

is responsible for verifying entitlement of the KDSM to discharged members of the military who served in South Korea prior to the creation of the KDSM. As an official

U.S. 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 secur ...

exception to policy, service members may be entitled to both 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 ...

, and the KDSM for participation in operations in South Korea during the same timeframe between October 1, 1966 and June 30, 1974. Only one award of the Korea Defense Service Medal is authorized, regardless of the amount of time served in the South Korean theater.

Appearance

The Korea Defense Service Medal is a bronze medal in diameter. The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

bears a Korean "circle dragon", surrounded by a scroll inscribed ''KOREA DEFENSE SERVICE''. In an earlier design of the medal, the scroll is inscribed ''KOREA DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL''. At the base of the medal are two sprigs, laurel on the left and bamboo on the right. The reverse bears an outline of the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

surmounted by two crossed swords, pointed up. Around the edge is a decorative circlet with five points. The ribbon for the Korea Defense Service Medal is predominantly green and wide. In the center is a ultramarine blue stripe, flanked by stripes of golden yellow and white, spaced apart.

References

External links

Air Force Personnel Center Korea Defense Service Medal
{{Authority control Aftermath of the Korean War Awards established in 2004 South Korea–United States military relations United States service medals

Criteria

Appearance

See also

References

Further reading

External links