Mexican Service Medal
Encyclopedia
The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military which was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December 12, 1917. The Mexican Service Medal recognizes those service members who performed military service against Mexican forces between the dates of April 12, 1911 and June 16, 1919.

To be awarded the Mexican Service Medal, a service member was required to perform military duty during the time period of eligibility and in one of the following military engagements.
  • Veracruz
    United States occupation of Veracruz, 1914
    The United States occupation of Veracruz, which began with the Battle of Veracruz, lasted for six months and was a response to the Tampico Affair of April 9, 1914...

     Expedition: April 24 to November 26, 1914
  • Punitive Expedition into Mexico
    Pancho Villa Expedition
    The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...

    : March 14, 1916 to February 7, 1917
  • Buena Vista
    Buena Vista
    Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:*Buena Vista , a Walt Disney trademark*Buena Vista Social Club , a Cuban music club plus an album and film inspired by the club...

    , Mexico
    Mexico
    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

    : December 1, 1917
  • San Bernardino Canyon, Mexico
    Mexico
    The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

    : December 26, 1917
  • La Grulla, Texas
    La Grulla, Texas
    La Grulla is a city in Starr County, Texas, United States, founded by Juan Santiago Longoria in 1836...

    : January 8 – January 9, 1918
  • Pilares
    Pilares
    Pilares is a neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil....

    , Chihuahua: March 28, 1918
  • Nogales, Arizona
    Nogales, Arizona
    Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....

    : November 1 - 26, 1915, or August 27, 1918
  • El Paso, Texas
    El Paso, Texas
    El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...

     and Ciudad Juárez
    Ciudad Juárez
    Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...

    , Chihuahua: June 15 – June 16, 1919


The United States Navy issued the Mexican Service Medal to members of the Navy and Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 who participated in any of the above actions, as well as to service member who served aboard U.S. naval vessels, patrolling Mexican waters, between April 21, and November 26, 1914, or between March 14, 1916, and February 7, 1917.

The Mexican Service Medal was also awarded to any service member who was wounded or killed while participating in action any against hostile Mexican forces between April 12, 1911 and February 7, 1917.

Although a single decoration, both the Army and Navy issued two different versions of the Mexican Service Medal. The Army Mexican Service Medal displayed an engraving of a yucca plant
Yucca
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...

, while the Navy version depicted a water front fortress. Both medals displayed the annotation "1911 - 1917" on the bottom of the medal.

The Mexican Service Medal was a one time decoration and there were no service stars authorized for those who had participated in multiple engagements. For those Army members who had been cited for gallantry in combat, the Citation Star
Citation Star
The Citation Star was an award of the United States Army which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9, 1918. The Citation Star was a silver star device pinned to the World War I Victory Medal to denote those who had been cited for extreme heroism or valor...

 was authorized as a device to the Mexican Service Medal. There were no devices authorized for the Navy's version of the decoration.

A similar decoration, known as the Mexican Border Service Medal
Mexican Border Service Medal
The Mexican Border Service Medal was a decoration of the United States military which was established by an act of the United States Congress on July 9, 1918...

 also existed for those who had performed support duty to Mexican combat expeditions from within the United States.

See also

  • Awards and decorations of the United States military
    Awards and decorations of the United States military
    Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces...

  • Border War (1910–1918)
    Border War (1910–1918)
    The Border War, or the Border Campaign, refers to the military engagements which took place in the Mexican-American border region of North America during the Mexican Revolution. The Bandit War in Texas was part of the Border War...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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