The Korean Service Medal (KSM) was a military award for service in the United States Armed Forces and was established November 8, 1950, by

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

of President Harry Truman. The Korean Service Medal is the primary US military award for service or participation in operations in the Korean area during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

between June 27, 1950, and July 27, 1954.

Medal devices

Service stars

The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

declared thirteen official campaigns of the Korean War, all of which are annotated by

service stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...

on the Korean Service Medal. Some campaigns apply to all branches of the US military, while others are branch specific. The Korean Service Medal is authorized a 3/16" bronze or silver (indicates five campaigns) service star to denote participation in any of the following campaigns: * North Korean Aggression (USMC, Navy): June 27 to November 2, 1950 * United Nations Defensive (Army, USAF): June 27 to September 15, 1950 * Inchon Landing (USMC, Navy): September 13 to 17, 1950 * United Nations Offensive (Army, USAF): September 16 to November 2, 1950 * Chinese Communist Forces Intervention (Army, USAF): November 3, 1950, to January 24, 1951 * Communist China Aggression (USMC, Navy): November 3, 1950, to January 24, 1951 * First United Nations Counteroffensive (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): January 25 to April 21, 1951 * Chinese Communist Forces Spring Offensive (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): April 22 to July 8, 1951 * United Nations Summer-Fall Offensive (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): July 9 to November 27, 1951 * Second Korean Winter (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): November 28, 1951, to April 30, 1952 * Korean Defense Summer-Fall, 1952 (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): May 1 to November 30, 1952 * Third Korean Winter (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): December 1, 1952, to April 30, 1953 * Korea, Summer 1953 (USMC, Army, Navy, USAF): May 1 to July 27, 1953

Arrowhead device

arrowhead device The arrowhead device is a miniature bronze arrowhead that may be worn on campaign, expedition, and service medals and ribbons to denote participation in an amphibious assault landing, combat parachute jump, helicopter assault landing, or combat ...

is authorized for US Army or Air Force personnel to denote participation in each of the following: * Amphibious landing at

Inchon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

* Airborne attacks on Sukch'on-Such'on and Munsan-Ni

Fleet Marine Force combat operation insignia

* The

Fleet Marine Force Combat Operation Insignia The Fleet Marine Force Combat Operation Insignia is a miniature inch bronze United States Marine Corps emblem that may be authorized by the Secretary of the Navy for wear on specific campaign, expeditionary, and service medal ribbons issued to U ...

is authorized for US Navy personnel who served with the Marine Corps at any time during the Korean War.

History

Although the Korean War Armistice ended combat operations in Korea on 27 July 1953, the Korean Service Medal was issued until June 1954 due to the tense nature of the occupation and garrison duty immediately after the armistice, as well as the high possibility of a renewed attack by

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. After 1954, the Korean Service Medal was no longer issued although the

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...

was authorized for Korean area service between October 1, 1966, to June 30, 1974. As of 2004, a new medal known as the

Korea Defense Service Medal The Korea Defense Service Medal (KDSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces that was first created in 2002 when it was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The bill to create the proposal was introduced and champ ...

was authorized for members of the armed forces who served in the defense of the Republic of Korea from July 28, 1954, to a date to be determined. The KSM was designed by the Army Heraldic Section. The color scheme of the ribbon is derived from the

Flag of the United Nations The flag of the United Nations is a sky blue banner containing the United Nations' emblem in the centre. The emblem on the flag is coloured white; it is a depiction of the world map in the azimuthal equidistant projection (centred on the North ...

, as it was under the auspices of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(

United Nations Security Council Resolution 82 Resolution 82 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 25 June 1950. It condemned the "armed attack on the Republic of Korea by forces from North Korea", while calling for "the immediate cessation of hostilities" and for "th ...

) that the war was conducted. The medal itself features a "Korean gateway," most likely an

iljumun ''Iljumun'' is the first gate at the entrance to many Korean Buddhist temples. Called the "One-Pillar Gate", because when viewed from the side the gate appears to be supported by a single pillar. Description The Iljumun is one of the three maj ...

, on the front, and a

taegeuk ''Taegeuk'' (, ) is a Sino-Korean vocabulary, Sino-Korean term meaning "supreme ultimate", although it can also be translated as "great polarity / duality / extremes". The term and its overall concept is derived from the Chinese ''Taiji (philos ...

on the reverse. The United Nations Service Medal for Korea was usually issued alongside the Korean Service Medal. Beginning in 1999, the

Republic of Korea War Service Medal The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM, , ), also known as the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM), is a military award of South Korea which was first authorized in December 1950. History 6.25 Incident Participation Medal Originally and te ...

was also awarded to United States service members who received the Korean Service Medal. The

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation () is a military unit award of the government of Republic of Korea that may be presented to South Korean and foreign military units for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic of Korea. In recognition of a ...

is retroactively authorized to any United States Army veteran who served in Korea during the War.

References

{{Authority control Awards established in 1950 Military awards and decorations of the Korean War Military history of the United States during the Korean War United States service medals