- Established
- 1942
- Awarded by
- All services
- Criteria
- Heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
- Precedence
- #16 of 18 in this guide · below Meritorious Service Medal · above Prisoner of War Medal
Created in 1942 for aircrews, the Air Medal was awarded by the hundreds of thousands during World War II, often for completing a set number of combat missions.
From Wikipedia
The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
Excerpt from “Air Medal” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable recipients
- Neil Armstrong1930–2012 · Korean War
- George H. W. Bush1924–2018 · World War II
- John McCain1936–2018 · Vietnam War
- Buzz Aldrin1930 · Korean War
- Douglas MacArthur Medal of Honor too1880–1964 · World War I
- Clark Gable1901–1960 · World War II
- James Stewart1908–1997 · World War II
- John Ford1894–1973 · World War II
- Colin Powell1937–2021 · Vietnam War
- Oliver Stone1946 · Vietnam War
- John Glenn1921–2016 · World War II
- Robert Kiyosaki1947 · Vietnam War
- Joseph McCarthy1908–1957 · World War II
- Jim Lovell1928–2025
- Gene Roddenberry1921–1991 · World War II
Images: medal (Public domain); ribbon (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
