Front view of seven mini U.S. military medals with various colorful ribbons and medal designs

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Back of seven mini U.S. military service medals with colorful ribbons

U.S. Navy Miniature Medals

Object NameMedal

Historic Owner George E. Allison

Association USS Intrepid (CV/CVA/CVS-11)

Date1959 -1961

PeriodCold War

Mediumcotton, metal, leather

ClassificationsCommunication Artifacts

Credit LineCollection of the Intrepid Museum. Gift of the family of Cdr. George E. Allison, USN Ret. 2022.22.08

Object number2022.22.08

DescriptionMedals, Miniature; Seven miniature medals affixed to a bar with an exterior leather backing strap. There are butterfly clutch pin backings at either end of the back. The medals in order from left to right are as follows, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, China Service Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

The Joint Service Commendation Medal consists of a gold laurel wreath bound with gold bands encircling four conjoined gold enameled hexagons edged in gold. The top hexagon has thirteen gold five-pointed stars and the lower hexagon has a gold heraldic device representing land, air and sea. A gold eagle with outstretched wings is depicted in the center of the hexagons with a shield on its breast and grasping three arrows in its talons. The back of the medal has a space for engraving the recipient’s name and has raised text that reads “For // military // merit” with a laurel spray below. The ribbon has a green center stripe flanked by green and white stripes on either side and blue stripes on each edge.

The Navy Good Conduct Medal is a bronze circle with a raised anchor in the center and an anchor chain circling the edge of the medal. Around the edges of the anchor are the words “United States Navy”. Superimposed over the anchor is an image of the sailing ship USS Constitution encircled by coiled rope. Below the ship is the word “Constitution”. The back of the medal has three raised words around the edge that read “Fidelity – Zeal – Obedience”. The medal hangs from red ribbon.

The American Campaign Medal is a bronze circle that depicts a U.S. Navy cruiser, a B-24 bomber and an enemy submarine sinking into waves. There are buildings in the background. The inscription at the top reads “American Campaign”. The back depicts an eagle standing on a rock, with raised text that reads “1941–1945” on the left and “United // States of // America” on the right. The medal hangs from a ribbon that is predominantly light blue with white, black, red and dark blue stripes.

The World War II Victory Medal is a bronze circle that depicts the female figure of Liberty, resting her right foot on a helmet, holding a broken sword hilt in her right hand and a broken blade in her left. The figure is centered between raised text that reads “World War II”. The back of the medal has raised text around the outer edge that reads “United States of America // 1941 1945”. In the center, there is an image of a palm branch with raised text above and below that reads “Freedom // From fear and want // Freedom of speech // And religion”.) The medal hangs from a ribbon that has a center red stripe with rainbow stripes on either side.

The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a bronze circle that depicts Neptune riding a sea serpent with the head and front legs of a horse. Neptune holds a trident in his right hand and points to an image of land with his left hand. Inscribed at the bottom within ocean waves are the words “Occupation // service”. The back depicts an eagle perched on an anchor and laurel branches. Above the eagle is raised text that reads “United States Navy” and on either side of the eagle is raised text that reads “For service”. The medal hangs from a ribbon that has two wide stripes of red and black in the center with stripes of white on either edge.

The China Service Medal is a bronze circle that depicts a relief image of a Chinese junk sailing ship at sea with “China Service” surrounding it. The back has an eagle standing on an anchor and holding a leafy branch beneath "United State Navy // for service" in raised letters. The medal hangs from a yellow ribbon with thin red stripes on either side.

The National Defense Service Medal is a bronze circle that depicts an eagle with inverted wings standing on a sword and palm branch. Above the eagle at the top there are raised words that say “National Defense”. The back has a shield from the seal of the United States in the center. The shield has horizontal stripes on the top and vertical alternating dark and light stripes below. The bottom half of the disc below the shield has a wreath of laurel and oak. The medal hangs from a ribbon with a center stripe of yellow flanked by small stripes of red, white and blue on either side and large stripes of red on either edge. The ribbon has one small bronze star attached.

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