The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the

United States military 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 ...

for service in Mexico from 1911 to 1919.

History

The Mexican Service Medal awarded by the Army was established by General Orders of the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

on December 12, 1917. The Navy's Mexican Service Medal was established by Navy Department General Orders Number 365 on February 11, 1918, as amended by Navy Department General Orders No. 464 of April 27, 1919. The Mexican Service Medal recognizes those servicemen who performed military service against Mexican forces between the dates of April 12, 1911 and June 16, 1919.Institute of Heraldry Mexican Service Medal
/ref> To be awarded the Mexican Service Medal, a serviceman was required to perform military duty during the time period of eligibility and in one of the following military engagements. *

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

Expedition: April 21 to November 23, 1914 * Punitive Expedition into Mexico: March 14, 1916 to February 7, 1917 *

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

: December 1, 1917 *The punitive expedition in the aftermath of the

Brite Ranch raid The Brite Ranch raid was an incident that occurred on Christmas Day 1917, in which Mexican raiders crossed the Rio Grande River border and attacked a ranch in Presidio County, Texas. At the time the raiders were thought to be Villistas, as they ...

on San Bernardino Canyon,

, December 26, 1917 * La Grulla, Texas: January 8–9, 1918 *The aftermath of the

Neville Ranch raid The Nevill Ranch raid occurred on the night of March 25, 1918, and was the last serious attack on a Texas ranch by Mexican rebels during the Bandit War. It is not certain, but there was reason to believe that Villistas were responsible for the r ...

that resulted in a small action in the village of

Pilares Pilares is a neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over ...

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

: March 28, 1918 *For actions in

Nogales, Arizona Nogales (English: or , ; ) is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The population was 20,837 at the 2010 census and estimated 20,103 in 2019. Nogales forms part of the larger Tucson–Nogales combined statistical area, with a total population ...

during the Battle of Nogales, November 1–26, 1915, or

Battle of Ambos Nogales The Battle of Ambos Nogales (The Battle of Both Nogales), or as it is known in Mexico ''La batalla del 27 de agosto'' (The Battle of 27 August), was an engagement fought on 27 August 1918 between Mexican military and civilian militia forces and ...

, August 27, 1918 *

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

and

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

for the Battle of Ciudad Juárez : June 15–16, 1919 The United States Navy issued the Mexican Service Medal to the sailors and

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

who participated in any of the above actions, as well as to servicemen who served aboard U.S. naval vessels patrolling Mexican waters between April 21 and November 26, 1914, or between March 14, 1916, and February 7, 1917. The Mexican Service Medal was also awarded to any servicemen who was wounded or killed while participating in action any against hostile Mexican forces between April 12, 1911, and February 7, 1917. Although the Mexican Service Medal was a single decoration, the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy issued two different versions of it. The Army version displays an engraving of a yucca plant, while the Navy version depicts the

San Juan de Ulúa San Juan de Ulúa, also known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa, is a large complex of fortresses, prisons and one former palace on an island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico overlooking the seaport of Veracruz, Mexico. Juan de Grijalva's ...

fortress in

harbor. Both versions display the annotation "1911 – 1917" on the bottom of the medal. The Mexican Service Medal was a one-time decoration and there were no

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 ...

authorized for those who had participated in multiple engagements. For those soldiers who had been cited for gallantry in combat, the

Citation Star The Citation Star was a Department of War personal valor decoration issued as a ribbon device which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9, 1918 (Bulletin No. 43, War Dept. 1918). When awarded, a silver star was placed o ...

was authorized as a device to the Mexican Service Medal. There were no devices authorized for the Navy's version of the decoration. A similar decoration, known as the

Mexican Border Service Medal The Mexican Border Service Medal was a U.S. service medal established by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918. It was awarded for service between May 9, 1916 and March 24, 1917, or with the Mexican Border Patrol between January 1, 1916 to April ...

also existed for those who had performed support duty to Mexican combat expeditions from within the United States.

Notable recipients

*General of the Armies

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

*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 ...

*Fleet Admiral

William Halsey Jr. William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the others ...

, USN *General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

*Lieutenant General

John A. Lejeune John Archer Lejeune (; January 10, 1867 – November 20, 1942) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Lejeune served for nearly 40 years in the military, and commanded the U.S. Army's 2n ...

, USMC *Rear Admiral

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

, USN *Major General

John H. Russell Jr. John Henry Russell Jr. (November 14, 1872 – March 6, 1947) was a major general and 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps. His only child was Brooke Astor, a noted philanthropist, who lived to be 105. Early life Russell was born on November ...

, USMC

References

External links

* {{Authority control United States service medals

History

Notable recipients

See also

References

External links