The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by Executive Order 8808, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941.

[1][2] The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served on active duty between September 8, 1939, and December 7, 1941.

The American Defense Service Medal was established by Executive Order 8808, on 28 June 1941, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and announced in War Department Bulletin 17, 1941.

[2][3] The medal is authorized to military members who served on active duty between President Roosevelt's declaration of a limited national emergency on September 8, 1939, and the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

[1] The United States Navy excluded those reservists who were on active duty for less than ten days during the eligibility period, but otherwise the Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard awarded the medal to all personnel who served on active duty at any time during the eligibility period, Regular or Reservist, provided they passed their initial physical examinations, such as in the case of those Reservists called back to extended active duty prior to the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, or enlisted recruits or officer candidates who entered the Navy or Marine Corps during the same period.