Prisoner of War Medal
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The Prisoner of War Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
The Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded to any person who was a prisoner of war after April 5, 1917, (the date of the United States entry into World War I). It is awarded to any person who was taken prisoner or held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing Armed Force; or while serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. Hostages of terrorists, and persons detained by governments in which the U.S. is not actively engaged in armed conflict are not eligible for the medal. The person's conduct, while in captivity, must have been honorable. This medal may be awarded posthumously to the surviving next of kin of the recipient.
The medal was designed by Jay C. Morris of the Institute of Heraldry. On the obverse of the medal is an American eagle, wing folded, and completely enclosed (imprisoned) by a ring of barbed wire following the outline of the medal. The reverse of the medal has the inscription, "Awarded To" (with a blank area for the recipient's name) "For Honorable Service While a Prisoner of War" in three centered lines. Below this is a shield of the United States, and below, following the curvature of the medal, are the words, "United States of America."
Multiple awards of the Prisoner of War Medal are denoted in all branches of the military by service stars. The ribbon for the Prisoner of War Medal consists of a very wide center stripe of black, flanked on either side by a narrow white stripe, thin dark blue stripe, thin white stripe and a thin stripe of red at the edge of the medal.
Since the criteria dates for the Prisoner of War Medal begin seventy years prior to its creation, the medal is retroactive by design to the conflicts of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and to the Vietnam War. The medal is not, however, retroactive to conflicts prior to the First World War to include the pre-20th century conflicts of the Spanish-American War, American Civil War, Mexican-American War, and the American Revolution.
Veterans seeking to apply for the Prisoner of War Medal retroactively may do so by contacting the National Personnel Records Center. For those service members whose records have been destroyed in the 1973 National Archives Fire, the Prisoner of War Medal may still be awarded through review of alternate records sources (including POW cards maintained separately from military files) and from any documentation provided by the veteran such as telegrams, miltiary orders, or official correspondence denoting status as a Prisoner of War. Requests for present day Prisoner of War Medals, such as from those taken prisoner in the Gulf War or the 2003 invasion of Iraq, are normally handled by the various military service departments.
