Authorized by Executive Order 8808 (reference (dddd)).
Promulgated by War Department Bulletin 17 and Navy Department General Orders No.
172.
American Defense Medal is awarded to all U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Service
members who served on active duty at any time between September 8, 1939 and
December 7, 1941.
Service members in the U.S. Army were required to have had
served for a period of at least 12 months.
Recipients of the American Defense Service Medal,
depending on the circumstances, were authorized to wear certain devices with the award.
Service Clasps
Foreign Service. Awarded to U.S. Army
Service members for service outside the continental United States (CONUS), as crew
members of a vessel sailing ocean waters, flights over ocean waters, or as an assigned
member of an organization stationed outside the CONUS.
Fleet Clasp. Awarded to U.S. Navy, U.S.
Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard Service members for military service on the high
seas while regularly attached to any vessel or aircraft squadron in the Atlantic, Pacific,
or Asiatic Fleets, to include vessels operating directly under the Chief of Naval
Operations.
Base Clasp. Awarded to U.S. Navy, U.S.
Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard Service members for military service on shore at
bases and naval stations outside the United States, including military service in Alaska
and Hawaii.
Service Star. Possession of a service clasp is
denoted by wearing of a bronze star on the service ribbon of the American Defense
Service Medal. The star may not be worn if the letter "A" device is authorized.
Letter "A" Device. A bronze letter "A" is authorized
for those Service members who served on board vessels operating in actual or potential
belligerent contact with Axis Forces in the Atlantic Ocean between June 22 and
December 7, 1941.
Authorized Devices: Bronze Star,
Bronze A ( Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps)
List of Navy Ships awarded the American Defense
List of World War II Navy Ships
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