Historical Context:

The World War II Victory Medal was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The medal was designed by Thomas H. Jones and approved by the Secretary of War on 5 February 1946. Consequently, it did not transition from a ribbon to a full medal until after World War II had ended. The World War II Victory Medal was first issued as a service ribbon, referred to as the “Victory Ribbon.”

The Congressional authorization for the medal specified that it was to be awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of the Government of the Philippine Islands, who served on active duty, or as a reservist, between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945.

Medal Design:

The bronze medal is 1 ¹⁄₂ inches in width. The obverse is a figure of Liberation standing full length with head turned to dexter looking to the dawn of a new day, right foot resting on a war god’s helmet with the hilt of a broken sword in the right hand and the broken blade in the left hand, the inscription WORLD WAR II placed immediately below the center.

On the reverse are inscriptions for the Four Freedoms: FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND WANT and FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION separated by a palm branch, all within a circle composed of the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1941 1945.^[

The suspension and service ribbon of the medal is 1 ³⁄₈ inches wide and consists of the following stripes: ³⁄₈ inch double rainbow in juxtaposition (blues, greens, yellows, reds (center), yellows greens and blues); ¹⁄₃₂ inch White 67101; center ⁹⁄₁₆ inch Old Glory Red 67156; ¹⁄₃₂ inch White; and ³⁄₈ inch double rainbow in juxtaposition. The rainbow on each side of the ribbon is a miniature of the pattern used in the World War I Victory Medal.

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