Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces

Certain decorations remain inactive at this time (e.g. National Defense Service Medal) but may be reactivated at a later date in the future.

After the Civil War, stricter military regulations prohibited local commanders from issuing awards and the practice had fallen into disuse by the 20th century.

While presented as a gold medallion, members of the military were reported to wear a red ribbon on their uniforms to denote the decoration.

There are hundreds of foreign and international awards which have been approved for issuance to United States military personnel since World War I, the following being among the more common.

A further unit citation cord of the Order of William of the Netherlands was also issued during World War II, and was far more commonly known as the "Orange Lanyard".