A U.S. Army soldier who served in the Korean War could earn a defined set of Korean War Army medals and ribbons: two service medals awarded to nearly everyone in the era (the Korean Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal), individual decorations for valor or meritorious service, the Purple Heart for combat wounds, the Army Good Conduct Medal, unit citations, combat badges for infantry and medics, the Prisoner of War Medal for those held captive, and two foreign awards presented by the United Nations and the Republic of Korea. Replacement medals are available at no charge through the National Personnel Records Center.
The Two Service Medals Almost Every Korean War Soldier Earned
The Korean Service Medal went to personnel who served in Korea, its adjacent waters, or in aerial flight over Korea between June 27, 1950, and July 27, 1954. Qualifying service required permanent assignment or temporary duty of at least 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days in the theater.1Air Force Personnel Center. Korean Service Medal A bronze service star was worn on the ribbon for each of the ten designated campaigns the soldier participated in, with a silver star replacing five bronze stars. An arrowhead device on the ribbon denoted a combat parachute jump, helicopter assault landing, or amphibious assault landing.2U.S. Army Veteran Medals. Award Medal Ribbon Accouterments and Attachments
The National Defense Service Medal recognized honorable active service during the Korean War national emergency, June 27, 1950, through July 27, 1954. It did not require service in Korea itself. Any honorable active duty during the qualifying period was enough.3Air Force Personnel Center. National Defense Service Medal
The Ten Korean War Campaigns
Each of the following campaign phases corresponds to one bronze star on the Korean Service Medal ribbon:4U.S. Army Center of Military History. Campaign Streamers1Air Force Personnel Center. Korean Service Medal
- UN Defensive: June 27 – September 15, 1950
- UN Offensive: September 16 – November 2, 1950
- CCF Intervention: November 3, 1950 – January 24, 1951
- First UN Counteroffensive: January 25 – April 21, 1951
- CCF Spring Offensive: April 22 – July 8, 1951
- UN Summer-Fall Offensive: July 9 – November 27, 1951
- Second Korean Winter: November 28, 1951 – April 30, 1952
- Korea, Summer-Fall 1952: May 1 – November 30, 1952
- Third Korean Winter: December 1, 1952 – April 30, 1953
- Korea, Summer 1953: May 1 – July 27, 1953
Individual Decorations for Valor and Service
Korean War soldiers were eligible for the same individual decorations available across the post-World War II Army, awarded by the nature and degree of the action rather than by theater. In order of precedence:5U.S. Army Veteran Medals. Service Campaign Medals and Foreign Awards
- Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration, for gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy.
- Distinguished Service Cross, for extraordinary heroism in action that does not rise to the level of the Medal of Honor.
- Distinguished Service Medal, for exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility.
- Silver Star, for gallantry in action against an enemy.
- Legion of Merit, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in outstanding service.
- Distinguished Flying Cross, for heroism or extraordinary achievement in aerial flight.
- Soldier’s Medal, for heroism not involving conflict with an enemy, where the act involved personal hazard and voluntary risk of life.
- Bronze Star Medal, for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in action against an enemy.
Purple Heart
By the Korean War, the Purple Heart was reserved exclusively for personnel wounded or killed in action against an enemy. It was not discretionary. Any service member who sustained a qualifying combat wound was entitled to receive it, and separate wounds in separate engagements merited additional awards.6National Archives. Heart of Purple
Army Good Conduct Medal
Enlisted soldiers who showed exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity during continuous active service could earn the Army Good Conduct Medal. It normally required three years of qualifying service, but for the Korean War period a shortened rule applied: soldiers whose service terminated on or after June 27, 1950, could receive the medal with as little as one year of qualifying service. Those with less than a year still qualified if they were discharged due to a line-of-duty physical disability, or if they died in the line of duty before completing one year.7GovInfo. 32 CFR § 578.37 – Army Good Conduct Medal The award was not automatic. Unit commanders made eligibility determinations, and a court-martial conviction terminated a qualifying service period.
Unit Citations
Army units that performed with exceptional gallantry could receive the Distinguished Unit Citation, renamed the Presidential Unit Citation in 1957. It is the highest unit decoration and recognizes collective acts of gallantry equivalent to what would merit a Distinguished Service Cross for an individual.8Task and Purpose. Presidential Unit Citation
The Republic of Korea also awarded its own Presidential Unit Citation to close to 90 American military units for exceptionally meritorious service in Korea between July 11, 1952, and October 1, 1953. Soldiers assigned to those units during the cited period were authorized to wear the ROK Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.
Combat Badges
Two badges, worn on the uniform rather than hung as medals, carried significant weight for soldiers who had been in direct ground combat.
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge was reserved for infantry and Special Forces soldiers personally present and under hostile fire while serving in an infantry unit of brigade or smaller size actively engaged in ground combat. The soldier had to be performing infantry duties and the unit had to be in direct contact with the enemy. Campaign credit alone was not enough. Personnel without an infantry or Special Forces military occupational specialty were ineligible regardless of circumstances, and commanders had no authority to make exceptions.9GovInfo. 32 CFR § 578.69 – Combat Infantryman Badge The CIB is documented through permanent orders; any certificates issued by commanders are commemorative only.10U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Medical Badge
The Combat Medical Badge is the medic’s counterpart to the CIB. It was awarded to Army Medical Department personnel at the grade of Colonel and below who were assigned or attached to an infantry unit and personally present and under fire while rendering medical care. As with the CIB, presence in a combat zone was not enough; the infantry unit had to be in actual contact with the enemy, and the medic had to be providing care during that engagement.11U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Combat Medical Badge
Prisoner of War Medal
Many Army soldiers were captured during the Korean War, and those who endured captivity became eligible for the Prisoner of War Medal after it was created by Public Law 99-145 on November 8, 1985. The medal applies retroactively, and the Korean War is a qualifying conflict. The service member must have been held captive while engaged in action against an enemy or during military operations against an opposing force.12Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Prisoner of War Medal
Individuals convicted of misconduct by a military tribunal, those who received a less-than-honorable discharge for actions during captivity, or those found to have failed to act in accordance with the Code of Conduct are ineligible. Only one medal is authorized per person; subsequent periods of captivity are recognized with oak leaf clusters. There is no time limit on applications, and the medal may be awarded posthumously.
Foreign Awards
United Nations Service Medal
Because U.S. forces in Korea operated under a United Nations mandate, qualifying personnel received the United Nations Service Medal. The UN General Assembly authorized it on December 12, 1950, and the U.S. Department of Defense approved acceptance on November 27, 1951. To qualify, a service member had to have participated in action in Korea between June 27, 1950, and July 27, 1954, and also be eligible for the Korean Service Medal.13Air Force Personnel Center. United Nations Service Medal
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Decades after the armistice, the Republic of Korea offered its Korean War Service Medal to eligible American veterans. The U.S. Secretary of Defense approved acceptance and wear on August 20, 1999. Eligibility requires service in Korea, its territorial waters, or airspace between June 25, 1950, and July 27, 1953, through permanent assignment or temporary duty of 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days. Aircrew members who flew combat or combat-support missions over Korea also qualify. Service in Japan, Guam, Okinawa, or the Philippines does not count.14Air Force Personnel Center. Republic of Korea Korean War Service Medal The U.S. Army has issued the medal since January 1, 2006, using medals provided by the Republic of Korea. Issuance will end once supplies are exhausted.15U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Korean War Service Medal
What the Korea Defense Service Medal Is Not
The Korea Defense Service Medal is a separate, later award for personnel who served in support of the defense of the Republic of Korea after the armistice. Its qualifying period begins July 28, 1954, one day after the Korean Service Medal’s combat period ended. It is not a Korean War award and does not apply to wartime service.16GovInfo. 32 CFR § 578.34 – Korea Defense Service Medal
How to Request Replacement Medals
Korean War veterans or their next of kin can request replacement medals at no cost. Because virtually all Korean War-era service records now have archival status (separation dates more than 62 years ago), the main point of contact is the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Requests can be submitted online through the National Archives website or by mail to the NPRC at 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138. Include a copy of the veteran’s DD 214 or other discharge documents, and if the veteran is deceased, a death certificate.17U.S. Army Veteran Medals. Veteran Medals Home18National Archives. Replace Medals
Award certificates are not automatically included with replacement medals and must be specifically requested from the NPRC.
The ROK War Service Medal is handled separately. Applications go to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky (AHRC-PDP-A, Dept. 480, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122-5408). If the DD 214 does not verify Korean service, supporting documents such as assignment orders, travel vouchers, or valor award citations showing service in Korea may be submitted.15U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Korean War Service Medal