The Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal was authorized by the Navy in 1962 and they provided for its retroactive presentation for qualifying service during any period of time back to the year 1958. These Navy medals were considered the replacement for the Naval Reserve Medal, and required 4 years of satisfactory reserve service until 1996. [...]
The Army was the last branch of military service to authorize a Reserve Good Conduct Medal, when it created the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal in 1972. These Army ribbons and medals were originally awarded to active members in the Army Reserve or the National Guard for four years of honorable service. Twenty-three years after [...]
In April of 1964 the Air Force established its Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal and called it the “Air Force Reserve Ribbon”. Seven and a half years later, in November of 1971, these Air Force ribbons became full sized military medals. The original decoration was awarded for four years of meritorious service without any [...]
Wearing Air Force medals is more than a matter of personal pride. It’s the pride of being part of something greater, of carrying the honor of service to those who gave their lives. More than self-recognition, medals serve as tributes to those cadets who are no longer with us to wear them proudly themselves.
When you [...]
In 1923, the Coast Guard was the third service branch to initiate a Good Conduct Medal. These original Coast Guard medals remain largely unchanged to the current day, even though the Coast Guard has gone through several different incarnations under three different governmental bodies in the mean time, to finally arrive as a branch of [...]
The Air Force was the last of the five U. S. Military branches to establish a Good Conduct Medal. These Air Force ribbons and medals were authorized by Congress on July 6, 1960, but not created until June of 1963. Previously, between 1947 and 1963, the Air Force issued its personnel Army Good Conduct Medals, [...]
The Marine Corps was the second branch of service to establish a Good Conduct Medal. These Marine Corps medals were first issued in 1896. They were originally Marine Corps ribbons and medals suspended from a clasp bearing the words “U.S. Marine Corps”, but the clasp was eliminated after 1935 and these Marine Corps medals and [...]
The branch of military service with the oldest Good Conduct Medal is the Navy. Its first of four versions dates back to 1869, and was issued between 1870 and 1884. In those days, these Navy medals were not meant to be worn on the uniform. They were merely a badge of honorable service, and were [...]
When the President issued an Executive Order establishing the Army Good Conduct Medal on June 28, 1941, it was the fourth branch of service to create a Good Conduct Medal. The Army ribbons and medals were authorized for award to soldiers completing three years active service after that date. Another Executive Order on March 31, [...]
What a difference 50 years has made in our country! During and after WWII, service men and women were considered heroes and widely admired. But that is not so often the case nowadays. In a country where almost half the population no longer actively supports the military in its defense of freedom in our international [...]
