The China Service Medal was a service medal awarded to U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

personnel. The medal was instituted by Navy Department General Order No. 176 on 1 July 1942. The medal recognized service in and around China before and after

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Criteria

Served ashore in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

or who were attached to any of the vessels that operated in support of the operations in China between 7 July 1937, and 7 September 1939. 1. The commemorative purposes for which the China Service Medal was established and authorized by General Order No. 176, dated 1 July 1942, are extended to include the services performed by personnel of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard during the operations in China subsequent to 2 September 1945, and until a terminal date to be designated. It is further provided that the Secretary of the Navy may tender this medal to personnel of the Army or other components of the Armed Forces of the United States for service which he may determine to be commensurate with and consistent with the services for which the award is made to personnel in the naval service, and this provision for tender shall apply for all periods of time for which award of this medal is authorized. Served ashore in China or were attached to any of the vessels that operated in support of operations in China between September 2, 1945 and April 1, 1957. 2. The medal will be awarded to individuals who shall have been attached to, present, and serving on permanent duty with an organization of the naval service of the United States credited by the Secretary of the Navy with having participated in operations in China. Service In a passenger status, or as an observer, visitor, courier, escort, inspector, or other similar status when not permanently attached to an eligible unit, is not creditable toward eligibility for the above medal. Services performed in the Asiatic-Pacific area between 3 September 1945 and 2 March 1946, inclusive, shall not be credited toward individual eligibility for the China Service Medal unless the individual is already eligible for the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal for services performed prior to 2 September 1945. 3. Organizations will, consistent with the above dates, be credited with qualifying service for services performed on shore in China and such adjacent islands and territories as are recognized to be Chinese, or in ships operating in such territorial waters or contiguous ocean areas, or in aircraft based upon and operating from such territories or ships. 4. The China Service Medal shall not be awarded for any service for which another service medal is authorized except as provided in paragraph 2 above and not more than one medal shall be awarded to any individual. No clasps, distinguishing devices, or other insignia are authorized to be worn on the corresponding service ribbon except that Individuals to whom the medal has been or may be awarded for service performed under General Order No. 176, of 1 July 1942, shall upon becoming eligible for this award for service performed subsequent to 2 September 1945, wear a bronze star signifying the second award on the ribbon of the medal and on the service ribbon. . Regulations permit the wearing of a bronze

service star 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 se ...

if a service member had performed duty during both periods of eligibility. The China Service Medal is no longer awarded by the United States Navy.

Appearance

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, ...

bears a three-sailed Chinese junk borne upon scroll waves. The boat is surrounded by the inscription in relief ''China Service'', in an Asian-style font. The reverse of the medal bears a bald eagle facing left. The eagle clutches laurels while perched on the horizontal shank of an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek � ...

with its flukes to the right. On the left side of the eagle is the word ''For'' and the right side ''Service''. Arching above the eagle is one of two inscriptions ''United States Navy'' for the version awarded to sailors or ''United States Marine Corps'' for the version awarded to Marines. The suspension ribbon, and service ribbon, for the medal is gold with red stripes at either side.

References

{{Authority control 1942 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1942 United States service medals

Criteria

Appearance

See also

References