The American Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by Executive Order 9265 issued by President Franklin D.

The American Campaign Medal was established per Executive Order 9265 on 6 November 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and announced in War Department Bulletin 56, 1942.

The criteria were initially announced in Department of the Army (DA) Circular 1, dated 1 January 1943, so that the ribbon could be authorized prior to design of the medal.

The streamer recognizes CAP's involvement in coastal patrol operations between May and August 1943 while attached to Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command.

This primarily applied to those service members whose units participated in anti-U-boat patrols (Anti-submarine warfare) in the Atlantic.