ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was established by Executive Order 9265 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on November 6, 1942, and implemented by War Department Bulletin 56 (1942) and Navy Department General Orders Number 253 (1942).
EFFECTIVE DATES
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for qualifying service between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946.
CRITERIA
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions:
- On permanent assignment within the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; or,
- For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty status for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or,
- For service in active combat in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat.
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was worn after the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and before the World War II Victory Medal.
DEVICES
- Bronze service stars:Bronze service stars were awarded by all services for participation in designated campaigns.
- A bronze arrowhead device was awarded for participation in designated Army amphibious and airborne combat assaults (Note: only one bronze arrowhead could be worn on the ribbon).
Bronze arrowhead:
The obverse of the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was designed by Thomas Hudson Jones (1892-1969). The reverse was designed by Adolph A. Weinman (1870-1952).
FIRST RECIPIENT
The first recipient of the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal was General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was presented his medal on July 24, 1947.
DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM
Obverse
In the center of a bronze medallion one and a quarter inches in diameter, an LST landing craft is shown with troops landing under fire, with an airplane in the background below the words EUROPEAN-AFRICAN-MIDDLE EASTERN CAMPAIGN (in three lines).
This scene represents the major invasions of Africa and Europe during the Second World War and portrays elements of the Army, Navy, and Air Corps. The words describe the Theater of operations.
Reverse
In the center of a bronze medallion one and a quarter inches in diameter, an American bald eagle is shown alight on a rock. To the eagle's left, the dates 1941-1945 (in two lines); to the eagle's right, the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (in three lines).
The bald eagle is the national symbol and thereby represents the American people. It is perched on a solid rock which represents the firmness of resolve and strength of America in prosecuting the war, as indicated by the dates.
Ribbon
The ribbon to the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal has a broad center stripe of green that is bisected by blue, white and red pinstripes. The green is edged on the right by slightly wider pinstripes of green, white and red (green being the outmost color); to the left, the center stripe of green is edged by slightly wider pinstripes of white, black, and white. The outer edges of the ribbon are edged in brown.
The Secretary of War directed that ribbons for the area campaign medals were to employ separate colors to denote the theaters they represented. The theater color was to predominate in each ribbon and the common relationship among all of them was to be achieved by using colored stripes put in the same place on each of the ribbons. The central stripe of green (bisected by the blue, white and red pinstripes taken from the American Defense Service Medal) alludes to the vegetation of Europe. The brown edge stripes represent North Africa. The green, white and red pinstripes inside the right edge are the colors of Italy and the white, black and white pinstripes inside the left edge represent Germany, thus representing both of the Axis powers in Europe.