The Wake Island Device is an award device 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 ...

which is presented as a

campaign clasp Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bl ...

to both the Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medals. The Wake Island Device is authorized for any sailor or marine who was awarded the Navy or Marine Corps

Expeditionary Medal An Expeditionary Medal is a United States military award which is awarded to its military personnel for deployment to a foreign region to participate in a campaign or conflict. Expeditionary medals are unique to the United States Armed Forces, but ...

due to service during the defense of Wake Island during the opening days of U.S. involvement in 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 ...

. To be awarded the Wake Island Device, a service member must have been awarded either the

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...

, or the

Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal The Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Marine Corps. It was established on 8 May 1919 as the ''Marine Corps Expeditionary Ribbon''. A full-sized medal was authorized on 1 March 1921. The Marine Corps Exped ...

, and must have served on

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 ...

between the dates of December 7 and December 22, 1941. The Wake Island Device is worn as a campaign clasp, inscribed with the words “Wake Island”, centered on the upper portion of the Navy or Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal. When wearing the Expeditionary Medal as a ribbon, the Wake Island Device is annotated by a silver “W” device, centered on the decoration. A total of only 449 Marine Corps and 68 Navy personnel were eligible for the Wake Island Device, making it one of the rarest of United States military awards. (As a point of comparison, there were a total of 472

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipients during

World War II 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 ...

See also