| European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal | |
|---|---|
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal |
|
| Awarded by Department of the Army Department of the Navy |
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| Type | Medal |
| Eligibility | served in the armed forces between the following dates:
|
| Status | Inactive |
| Statistics | |
| First awarded | December 7, 1941 |
| Last awarded | March 2, 1946 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (lower) | World War II Victory Medal |
ribbon and streamer |
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The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by Executive Order 9265 [1] issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The decoration was intended to recognize those military service members who had performed military duty in the European Theater (to include North Africa and the Middle East) during the years of the Second World War. Colored bands representing Germany (on the ribbon's left side), Italy (on the ribbon's right side), and the United States (in the center of the ribbon) are visible in the ribbon. The brown and green areas of the ribbon represent the terrain of the area of conflict, which ranged from beaches and sand, to grass and woodlands, to mountains.
Originally known as the “EAME Ribbon”, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is awarded for any service performed between December 7, 1941 and March 2, 1946 provided such service was performed in the geographical theater areas of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. For those service members who participated in multiple battle campaigns, service stars are authorized to the decoration with the arrowhead device awarded for any airborne or amphibious operations performed. The Fleet Marine Force combat operation insignia is also authorized for certain sailors.
The following campaigns are recognized by service stars to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.[2]
For those service members who did not participate in a designated battle campaign, the following "blanket campaigns" are authorized to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, denoted by service stars
The Pacific Theater counterpart to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded as a ribbon throughout the entire Second World War and it was not until 1947 that a full sized medal was authorized. The medal was designed by Thomas Hudson Jones. The reverse side was designed by Adolph Alexander Weinman and is the same design as used on the reverse of the Asiatic-Pacific and American Campaign Medals. The first recipient of the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower who was presented the decoration in recognition of his service as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II.