The Humanitarian Service Medal

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ, UNITED STATES

04.28.2016

Photo by Master Sgt. Mark Olsen  

New Jersey National Guard   

View of the Humanitarian Service Medal, April 28, 2016. The Humanitarian Service Medal was authorized by Executive Order 11965, Jan. 19, 1977. It was established to honor personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States who distinguished themselves by meritorious direct participation in a significant military act or operation of a humanitarian nature, or have rendered a service to mankind. The medal was designed by Jim Hammond and sculptured by Jay Morris of the Institute of Heraldry. Centered on the obverse of the medal within a circle, is a right hand pointing diagonally upward with open palm – to symbolize a giving or helping hand. At the top of the reverse of the medal is the inscription, For Humanitarian Service in three lines. Below this is an oak branch, with three leaves and three acorns. The ribbon has a wide center stripe of navy blue, flanked on either side by a broad stripe of medium blue, a thin stripe of white, and a narrow stripe of purple-maroon at the edges. Subsequent awards are indicated by a bronze service star worn on the medal ribbon and ribbon bar. The number of eligible operations are too numerous to mention and have included a wide variety of services from the first operation of the Guyana Disaster Relief in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978 and have included disaster, flood, tornado, and earthquake relief work and snow removal work. Also included were Operation Boat People, Evacuation of Laos, Cuban Refugee Resettlement, Beirut Evacuation, the Cholera Epidemic in the Truk Islands and operations of humanitarian aid in the United States and every corner of the world. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released)

• Date Taken: 04.28.2016
• Date Posted: 04.28.2016 10:22
• Photo ID: 2556245
• VIRIN: 160428-Z-AL508-001
• Resolution: 1857x2786
• Size: 1.03 MB
• Location: LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ, US