ESTABLISHING LEGISLATION The Pearl Harbor Survivor's Medal was established by Act of Congress [in the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991]. EVENT COMMEMORATED This medal commemorates those who were present at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. Civilian employees of the Army or Navy are also eligible if they were present and either killed or wounded during the attack. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE This is not a wearable medal and as such does not fit in the order of precedence. DEVICES No devices were authorized for this medal. DESIGNER The Pearl Harbor Survivor's Medal was designed by T. James Farrell. FIRST RECIPIENT The first recipient of the Pearl Harbor Survivor's Medal was not recorded. DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM Obverse In the center of a bronze medallion one and a half inches in diameter, naval vessels under attack at Pearl Harbor are shown. Above the battle scene just off a shore, and following the contour of the medal, is the inscription REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR. At the base of the medal, and following its contour, the words DECEMBER 7, 1941. Between the ships and the date, the inscription, in three lines, ACT OF /CONGRESS/ 1990. The battle scene is the attack at Pearl Harbor, and the ship under attack is the Maryland and outboard is the doomed Oklahoma, capsized in the shallows of "battleship row." The shoreline is the eastern edge of Ford Island. The Tennessee and the West Virginia lie astern. Swirling billows of smoke engulf the obscured Tennessee, which is aflame and wedged between the mooring quays and the sinking West Virginia portside. An auxiliary craft is portrayed in its attempt to control matters by dousing fires while a naval launch skirts blazing oil in search of survivors. Oahu's Koolau mountain range looms in the distant background. Reverse In the center of a bronze medallion one and half inches in diameter, an eagle clutching an olive branch. Following the contour of the medal, the inscription "A DAY WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY" (taken from President Roosevelt's speech before Congress on December 8th requesting a declaration of war). Beneath the eagle, in three lines, the inscription FOR / THOSE WHO / SERVED. Ribbon None |