The China Relief Expedition Medal was a decoration of the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

which was issued to members of both the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

for service in the

China Relief Expedition The China Relief Expedition was an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to rescue United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted ...

between 1900 and 1901 during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

. The medal was authorized by General Orders of the Department of the Navy on June 27, 1908. General Order 81 established the medal authorized for Naval personnel while General Order 82 authorized the medal for the Marine Corps.

Description and symbolism

To be awarded the China Relief Expedition Medal, a service member was required to perform duty within the borders of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

as part of the China Relief Expedition. The eligibility dates of the China Relief Expedition Medal were from May 24, 1900 to May 17, 1901. The medal was issued as a one time award and there were no devices authorized for multiple bestowals. The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

equivalent of the China Relief Expedition Medal was the China Campaign Medal. The ribbon of the Navy and Marine Corps version of the medal originally bore a yellow and black motif. The colors were changed in 1915 to yellow and blue to correspond with those of the U.S. Army medal issued for similar service. The first 400 medals struck bear the date "1901." The die in use became damaged and replaced with a re-engraved die. This one, however, had the date "1900" which appears on all subsequent copies.

References

* {{United States Campaign Medals United States campaign medals Boxer Rebellion campaign medals

Description and symbolism

See also

References