The Spanish War Service Medal was a United States military medal of the U.S.

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

which was established by an act of the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

on 9 July 1918 (40 Stat. 873). The medal recognizes those members of the Army and of the U.S. Volunteers who performed active duty during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, but did not qualify for the

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

Background

The primary purpose for the creation of the Spanish War Service Medal was to recognize units of the Army which had performed homeland defense in the United States during the years of the Spanish–American War. The award was also presented extensively to members of the

United States National Guard The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Charles M. Clement Charles Maxwell Clement (October 28, 1855 – September 9, 1934) was a Pennsylvania attorney and Army National Guard officer who attained the rank of major general as commander of the 28th Infantry Division. Early life Charles M. Clement was ...

who was the longest-tenured National Guard officer eligible for the award at the time it was authorized. The medal was similar in design to 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 ...

, which had been established the same year as the Spanish War Service Medal.

Criteria

To be awarded the Spanish War Service Medal, a service member must have served on active duty in the United States Army between the dates of 20 April 1898 and 11 April 1899. Those who were awarded the Spanish Campaign Medal were ineligible to receive the Spanish War Service Medal. The Spanish War Service Medal was a one time decoration and there were no devices authorized to the medal. The award was also strictly for Army personnel, since

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

Marine Corps 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 ...

personnel, who had served in the Spanish–American War, qualified for the

regardless if overseas duty was performed.

Appearance

The medal is made of bronze and is wide. 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 ...

of the medal is a Roman sword hanging on a tablet bearing the inscription ''FOR SERVICE IN THE SPANISH WAR''. The tablet is surrounded by a wreath, while the sword is sheathed representing the service of the National Guard within the Continental United States, not in combat. The reverse bears the coat of arms of the United States over a scroll inscribed ''FOR SERVICE'' surrounded by a wreath with the insignia of the Infantry at left, Artillery at the bottom and Cavalry at right. The ribbon is emerald green wide. At the edges are golden yellow stripes wide.

References

External links

* {{Authority control United States service medals