Medal for Humane Action

The Medal for Humane Action is a service medal of the United States armed forces which was created by an act (63 Stat. 477) of the United States Congress on July 20, 1949. The medal recognizes those military service members who performed extended duty in support of the Berlin Airlift. The medal is based on the design of the Berlin Airlift Device.

Criteria
To be awarded the Medal for Humane Action a service member was required to have performed over 120 days of duty, within the geographical boundary of Berlin, with such duty being in support of the Berlin Airlift between the dates of June 26, 1948 and September 30, 1949. Posthumous award may be made to any person who lost his life while, or as a direct result of, participating in the Berlin airlift, without regard to the length of such service, if otherwise eligible those so qualifying were also eligible for either the Army of Occupation Medal, or the Navy Occupation Service Medal, and both medals were authorized for simultaneous award and display.

The Medal for Humane Action was created for the single purpose of recognizing service during the Berlin Airlift. The medal was never issued again and DA Pamphlet 672-1 for the list of Army units entitled to the Berlin Airlift Device. Because of the decoration's specific award eligibility, it has the unique quality of being considered as both a military decoration and a commemorative medal.

Description
The medal is made of bronze and is 1.25 in in diameter. It depicts a Douglas C-54 Skymaster over a wheat wreath. At the center of the wreath is the Coat of arms of Berlin. The medal is suspended by a ribbon primarily of teal blue with black edges separated by thin white stripes. In the center is a red stripe with thin white stripes separating it from the teal.