Spanish War Service Medal

The Spanish War Service Medal was a military decoration of the United States Army which was established by an act of the U.S. Congress on July 9, 1918. The decoration recognizes those members of the Army who performed active duty during the Spanish-American War, but did not qualify for the Spanish Campaign Medal.

To be awarded the Spanish War Service Medal, a service member must have served on active duty in the United States Army between the dates of April 20, 1898 and April 11, 1899. Those who were awarded the Spanish Campaign Medal were ineligible to receive the Spanish War Service Medal.

The primary purpose for the creation of the Spanish War Service Medal was to recognize units of the Army which had performed homeland defense in the United States during the years of the Spanish-American War. The award was also presented extensively to members of the United States National Guard who had been federalized for active military duty but had not been deployed to actual combat in the Spanish-American War.

The Spanish War Service Medal was a one time decoration and there were no devices authorized to the medal. The award was also strictly for Army personnel, since United States Navy and Marine Corps personnel, who had served in the Spanish-American War, qualified for the Spanish Campaign Medal regardless if overseas duty was performed.

The first recipient of the Spanish War Service Medal was Major General Charles Clement who had served as the commander of U.S. forces in the United States during the Spanish-American War. The medal, itself, was similar in design to the Mexican Border Service Medal which had been established the same year as the Spanish War Service Medal.