World War II Victory Medal

World War II Victory Medal
Obverse
Type	Service medal
Presented by	Department of War and Department of the Navy
Eligibility	Served in the armed forces between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946.
Status	Obsolete

Service ribbon (top) and campaign streamer (bottom)

Precedence
Next (higher)	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
Equivalent	Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal
Next (lower)	Army of Occupation Medal or Navy Occupation Service Medal

The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945.^[1]^[2]

The World War I Victory Medal is the corresponding medal from World War I.

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Transcription

History

The World War II Victory Medal was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The medal was designed by Thomas H. Jones and approved by the Secretary of War on 5 February 1946. Consequently, it did not transition from a ribbon to a full medal until after World War II had ended. The World War II Victory Medal was first issued as a service ribbon, referred to as the "Victory Ribbon."

The Congressional authorization for the medal specified that it was to be awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of the Government of the Philippine Islands, who served on active duty, or as a reservist, between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.^[2]

On 8 August 1946, the separate Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal was established for members of the United States Merchant Marine who served during World War II.^[3]

Criteria

The World War II Victory Medal was awarded for service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946, both dates inclusive, with no minimum time in service requirement.^[1] The National Personnel Records Center has reported some cases of service members receiving the award for only a few days of service. As hostilities during the Second World War ended on 2 September 1945, there may be cases of service members who had enlisted, entered officer candidate school, or had been a cadet or midshipman at the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy or the U.S. Coast Guard Academy between 3 September 1945 and any date in 1946, receiving the medal without having been a veteran of the period of active hostilities during the war; the reason for this late date is that President Harry S. Truman did not declare an official end to hostilities until the last day of 1946.^[2]

As every member of the United States Armed Forces who served from 7 December 1941 to 31 December 1946 was eligible for the medal, there were over twelve million eligible recipients, making the World War II Victory Medal the second most widely awarded military award of the United States, after the National Defense Service Medal.^[4]^[5]

Appearance

The bronze medal is 1 1⁄2 inches in width. The obverse is a figure of Liberation standing full length with head turned to dexter looking to the dawn of a new day, right foot resting on a war god's helmet with the hilt of a broken sword in the right hand and the broken blade in the left hand, the inscription WORLD WAR II placed immediately below the center. On the reverse are inscriptions for the Four Freedoms: FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND WANT and FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION separated by a palm branch, all within a circle composed of the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1941 1945.^[2]

The suspension and service ribbon of the medal is 1 3⁄8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes: 3⁄8 inch double rainbow in juxtaposition (blues, greens, yellows, reds (center), yellows greens and blues); 1⁄32 inch White 67101; center 9⁄16 inch Old Glory Red 67156; 1⁄32 inch White; and 3⁄8 inch double rainbow in juxtaposition. The rainbow on each side of the ribbon is a miniature of the pattern used in the World War I Victory Medal.^[2]

Although the World War I Victory Medal included clasps, the World War II Victory Medal did not. This was because campaign medals were awarded instead.

Reverse
The National World War II Memorial has an engraving of it in one of the two pavilions

References

^ ^a ^b "Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards" (PDF). Headquarters Department of the Army. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "World War II Victory Medal". The Institute of Heraldry: Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the ARMY. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
^ piecesofhistory.com Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal
^ "World War II Veterans" (PDF).
^ "WWII Veteran Statistics". The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Retrieved 21 February 2019.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to World War II Victory Medal (United States).

United States Statutes at Large. Vol. 59. Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register. 1946. p. 461.
Code of Federal Regulations (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register. 2008. 32CFR578.47. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
NavPers 15,790: Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Navy. 1960 [1953]. p. 161. OCLC 45726498. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
MIL-DTL-3943/237A: Detail Specification Sheet — Medal, World War II Victory (PDF). 15 August 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
MIL-DTL-11589/149E: Detail Specification Sheet — Ribbon, World War II Victory Medal (PDF). 15 September 1995. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
"World War II Victory Medal". Fort Belvoir, Virginia: The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009.

v t e United States campaign, expeditionary, and service medals
1862–1906	Civil War Campaign Medal Indian Campaign Medal Dewey Medal Sampson Medal Cardenas Medal of Honor West Indies Campaign Medal Spanish Campaign Medal Spanish War Service Medal Army of Cuban Occupation Medal Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal Philippine Campaign Medal Philippine Congressional Medal
1905–1921	China Campaign Medal Navy Cuban Pacification Medal Navy Nicaraguan Campaign Medal Haitian Campaign Medal Dominican Campaign Medal
1911–1941	Mexican Service Medal Mexican Border Service Medal World War I Victory Medal Texas Cavalry Medal Army of Occupation of Germany Medal
1936–1945	Navy Expeditionary Medal Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal Haitian Campaign Medal NC-4 Medal Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal Yangtze Service Medal Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal United States Antarctic Expedition Medal
1942–1949	China Service Medal American Defense Service Medal Women's Army Corps Service Medal American Campaign Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal (Navy) Medal for Humane Action
1953–1999	National Defense Service Medal Korean Service Medal Antarctica Service Medal Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal Southwest Asia Service Medal Air and Space Expeditionary Service Ribbon Kosovo Campaign Medal Armed Forces Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
2003–present	Afghanistan Campaign Medal Iraq Campaign Medal Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Korea Defense Service Medal Air and Space Campaign Medal Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal Remote Combat Effects Campaign Medal