Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
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The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by Executive Order 9265 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
There were twenty one official campaigns of the Pacific Theater, denoted on the service medal by service stars. The arrowhead device is authorized for those campaigns which involved amphibious assaults. The Fleet Marine Force combat operation insignia is also authorized for certain sailors. The flag colors of Japan and the United States are visible in the ribbon.
Credible campaigns for the Pacific Theater are as follows:
- Philippine Islands 7 Dec 41 - 10 May 42
- Burma, 1942 7 Dec 41 - 26 May 42
- Central Pacific 7 Dec 41 - 6 Dec 43
- East Indies 1 Jan 42 - 22 Jul 42
- India-Burma 2 Apr 42 - 28 Jan 45
- Air Offensive, Japan 17 Apr 42 - 2 Sep 45
- Aleutian Islands 3 Jun 42 - 24 Aug 43
- China Defensive 4 Jul 42 - 4 May 45
- Papua 23 Jul 42 - 23 Jan 43
- Guadalcanal 7 Aug 42 - 21 Feb 43
- New Guinea 24 Jan 43 - 31 Dec 44
- Northern Solomons 22 Feb 43 - 21 Nov 44
- Eastern Mandates 7 Dec 43 - 14 Jun 44
- Bismarck Archipelago 15 Dec 43 - 27 Nov 44
- Western Pacific 17 Apr 44 - 2 Sep 45
- Leyte 17 Oct 44 - 1 Jul 45
- Luzon 15 Dec 44 - 4 Jul 45
- Central Burma 29 Jan 45 - 15 Jul 45
- Southern Philippines 27 Feb 45 - 4 Jul 45
- Ryukyus 26 Mar 45 - 2 Jul 45
- China Offensive 5 May 45 - 2 Sep 45
For members of the military who did not receive campaign credit, but still served on active duty in the Pacific Theater, the following “blanket” campaigns are authorized for which the medal is awarded without service stars.
- Antisubmarine 7 Dec 41 - 2 Sep 45
- Ground Combat: 7 Dec 41 - 2 Sep 45
- Air Combat: 7 Dec 41 - 2 Sep 45
The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was first issued as a ribbon in 1941. A full medal was authorized in 1947, the first of which was presented to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. The European Theater equivalent of the decoration was known as the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.
