- Established
- 1985
- Awarded by
- All services
- Criteria
- Taken prisoner and held captive while engaged in or supporting military operations.
- Precedence
- #17 of 18 in this guide · below Air Medal · above Combat Action Ribbon and combat badges
Authorized by Congress in 1985 for anyone held as a prisoner of war after April 5, 1917, including those who died in captivity.
From Wikipedia
The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is 10 U.S.C. § 1128. The Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded to any person who was a prisoner of war after April 5, 1917 (the date of the United States' entry into World War I was April 6).
Excerpt from “Prisoner of War Medal” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable recipients
- John McCain1936–2018 · Vietnam War
- Francis Gary Powers1929–1977
- Joseph Kittinger1928–2022 · Vietnam War
- Louis Zamperini1917–2014 · World War II
- Jessica Lynch1983
- Jeremiah Denton1924–2014 · Vietnam War
- Emil Kapaun Medal of Honor too1916–1951 · World War II
- Robert Michael White1924–2010 · Korean War
- William F. Dean Medal of Honor too1899–1981 · World War II
- Owen J. Baggett1920–2006 · World War II
- Tibor Rubin Medal of Honor too1929–2015 · Korean War
- Doug Hegdahl1946 · Vietnam War
- Roddie Edmonds1919–1985 · World War II
- Bud Day Medal of Honor too1925–2013 · World War II
- William G. Farrow1918–1942 · World War II
Images: medal (Public domain, Virginia Reyes of the Defense Media Activity-San Antonio); ribbon (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
