National Defense Service Medal
Overview
 
The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal
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...

 of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

. Created in 1953, the National Defense Service Medal was intended to be a "blanket campaign medal" awarded to any member of the United States military who served honorably during a designated time period of which a "national emergency" had been declared.

As of 2010, with an issuance span of sixty years, the National Defense Service Medal is the oldest service medal still in circulation by the United States armed forces, followed second by the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States military, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy...

 which has been active since 1961.
 
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