Campaign Medal Eligibility

[12A54]

Mods - please feel free to move this if it isn't the right place for it.

 

Would my Uncle have qualified for the Asiatic Pacific Campaign, Occupation, and China Service Medals?  (He served on a transport ship in WWII.  His discharge only credits him with the American Campaign and Victory Medals.)

 

• The ship he served on (8 Oct ’45 – 10 Jun ’46) spent more than 60 non-consecutive days in the Pacific Theater during the period of eligibility for the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal.

 

• His ship also made four round trips from the US to Nagoya, Yokohama, and Shanghai, spending time in each port.

 

• The campaign credits for his ship include both Occupation and China Service:  https://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22153.htm

 

 

[usmedalman]

The Navy History and Heritage Command site, NHHC has the ship lists for the China Service Medal (extended) which would cover this period, you can see if his ship is on the list. The lists for the Asiatic-Pacific and American Campaign medals are not published on the NHHC site, however.

 

Here is the link for the China Service. https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/awards/service-campaign/china-service-medal.html

[usmedalman]

After further research into the Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal, the 60 nonconservative days service (later changed to 30 days) only applies to personnel on a temporary duty assignment. Personnel regularly assigned to units or ships operating in the area prescribed for each medal "during any period between December 7, 1941, inclusive, and a date six months subsequent to the termination of the present war (March 2, 1946, for the Asiatic-Pacific)."

 

The American Campaign Medal required one year of service within CONUS or the same time periods as the Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal if the service was performed outside CONUS.

 

So, I am certain that if your research is correct, so is the ribbon rack you have posted.

[12A54]

Thanks very much for your research and help with this!

[Primoris Scio]

On 12/11/2024 at 1:12 PM, 12A54 said:

Would my Uncle have qualified for the Asiatic Pacific Campaign, Occupation, and China Service Medals?

 

What were his years of service? 

 

I think you are missing his Navy Good Conduct Medal.

[USMCR79]

1 hour ago, Primoris Scio said:

 

What were his years of service? 

 

I think you are missing his Navy Good Conduct Medal.

I appears that he did not have 4 years service to qualify for a GCM.

[Primoris Scio]

In wartime (after December 7, 1941), the medal could be awarded after one year of service.  So I think he should have it, unless he served less than 12 mos.

 

[12A54]

1 hour ago, Primoris Scio said:

In wartime (after December 7, 1941), the medal could be awarded after one year of service.  So I think he should have it, unless he served less than 12 mos.

 

He served on active duty from 9 January 1945 until 4 July 1946, so about 1.5 years.  Was award of the GCM automatic?  Not sure I would feel right including it - none of my other relatives who served more than a year had a GCM on their record.

[Marshallj]

If his conduct was not good then he may not have earned the GCM. Just saying. 

[USMCR79]

2 hours ago, Primoris Scio said:

In wartime (after December 7, 1941), the medal could be awarded after one year of service.  So I think he should have it, unless he served less than 12 mos.

 

In the Army only - The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard kept the pre war standards of 4 years.

 

[Primoris Scio]

1 hour ago, USMCR79 said:

In the Army only - The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard kept the pre war standards of 4 years.

Actually that is not accurate, they all dropped to a 1 year requirement, and if someone was wounded it was awarded without regard to time.

 

The criteria was amended by Executive Order 9323, dated 31 March 1943, to authorize award for three years service after 7 December 1941, or one (1) year service while the United States is at war.

 

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-9323-amendment-executive-order-no-8809-june-28-1941-establishing-the-good

 

2 hours ago, 12A54 said:

Was award of the GCM automatic? 

Yes, if you met the criteria it was yours.

 

This is what I believe his ribbon bar should look like, unless he did not qualify because the one year period of war ended on 2 September 1945, and he began his service on 9 January 1945, but I doubt that.  My understanding was that the awarding of the Pacific Campaign Medal fell under the title "war" and that ended on 2 March 1946, did the Occupation period also qualify under "war"?  

 

[atb]

38 minutes ago, Primoris Scio said:

Actually that is not accurate, they all dropped to a 1 year requirement, and if someone was wounded it was awarded without regard to time.

 

The criteria was amended by Executive Order 9323, dated 31 March 1943, to authorize award for three years service after 7 December 1941, or one (1) year service while the United States is at war.

 

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-9323-amendment-executive-order-no-8809-june-28-1941-establishing-the-good

 

Yes, if you met the criteria it was yours.

 

This is what I believe his ribbon bar should look like, unless he did not qualify because the one year period of war ended on 2 September 1945, and he began his service on 9 January 1945, but I doubt that.  My understanding was that the awarding of the Pacific Campaign Medal fell under the title "war" and that ended on 2 March 1946, did the Occupation period also qualify under "war"?  

 

That 1943 EO was for the Army as it says in the body of the document. USMCR79 is correct.

 

The Army GCM was created in 1941, long after the ones for the other armed services, again as the EO says right at the start. The Navy and USMC retained their own criteria.

 

From the EO you posted, which amends the earlier one creating the Army GCM, "....as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, to those enlisted men of the Army of the United States who on or after August 27, 1940, had or shall have honorably completed three years of active Federal military service, or who after December 7, 1941, have or shall have honorably served one year of active Federal military service while the United States is at war."

[Primoris Scio]

3 minutes ago, atb said:

That 1943 EO was for the Army as it says in the body of the document. USMCR79 is correct.

Yes, my fault I missed that for some reason, so the ribbon bar is accurate from the beginning. 

[USMCR79]

8 minutes ago, Primoris Scio said:

Yes, my fault I missed that for some reason, so the ribbon bar is accurate from the beginning. 

Except that the China Service medal would be placed after the Victory medal since it was earned after 1945 - Pre War China Service is before the American Defense medal. 

[USMCR79]

However the pre 1947 Naval Service order of precedence would be:

 

Top row L to R is American Theatre, AP Theatre, WWII Victory.

 

Bottom row is Occupation, China, and Good Conduct medal (GCM was last because it was considered a Service Medal - Later it was considered a person award)

 

 

 

 

[Primoris Scio]

9 minutes ago, USMCR79 said:

the pre 1947 Naval Service order of precedence

Just curious, which order of precedence is considered accurate - at the time of discharge, or when some future order replaces another?

[USMCR79]

56 minutes ago, Primoris Scio said:

Just curious, which order of precedence is considered accurate - at the time of discharge, or when some future order replaces another?

Once the Sailor is out of the military he can do what he wants....Marines try to look "Salty" and I would guess that would stay with the 1940-47 just to identify as "Old Corps".

 

Bill