The Army Good Conduct Medal
1941-Present
(Information extracted from the
Army
Institute of Heraldry web site)
The Good Conduct Medal was established
by Executive Order 8809, dated 28 June 1941, and authorized the award for
soldiers completing three years active service after that date. The criteria
was amended by Executive Order 9323, dated 31 March 1943, to authorize
award for three years service after 7 December 1941 or one year service
while the United States is at war. Executive Order 10444, dated 10 April
1953, revised the criteria to authorize award for three years service after
27 August 1940; one year service after 7 December 1941 while the United
States is at war; and award for the first award for service after 27 June
1950 upon termination of service, for periods less than three years, but
more than one year.
The medal was designed by Mr. Joseph
Kiselewski and approved by the Secretary of War on 30 October 1942. The
eagle, with wings spread, denotes vigilance and superiority. The horizontal
sword denotes loyalty, and the book represents knowledge acquired and ability
gained. On the reverse, the lone star denotes merit. The wreath of laurel
and oak leaves denotes reward and strength.
The second and subsequent awards are
indicated by the wear of the clasp with loop on the ribbon. Bronze clasps
indicate the second (two loops) through fifth award (five loops); silver
clasps indicate sixth (one loop) through tenth award (five loops); and
gold clasps indicate eleventh (one loop) through the fifteenth award (5
loops).
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