Marine Corps Good
Conduct Medal
Establishing Authority :The Marine Corps Good
Conduct Medal was established by Secretary of the Navy H.A. Herbert and was implemented by Navy
Department Special Orders Number 49 of July 20, 1896.
Effective Dates The Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal has been awarded for
qualifying service from July 20, 1896 to the present.
Criteria The Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective
basis to enlisted members in the Regular Marine Corps or Marine Corps Reserve
to recognize good behavior and faithful service in the U.S. Marine Corps while
on active duty for a specified period of time.
Order of Precedence The Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal is worn after
the Prisoner of War Medal and before the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal.
Devices
Suspender The ribbon was
originally suspended from a clasp with rounded ends bearing the words U.S. MARINE CORPS. This clasp was
eliminated because it could not be worn on the medal when it was bar-mounted
with other medals for formal wear.
Enlistment
Bars
The order creating the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal also provided that a bar
"of appropriate design" would be issued in lieu of additional medals.
These bars were engraved on the front with the number of the recipient's most
recent enlistment and on the reverse with the dates of the enlistment.
Enlistment bars were discontinued on January 4, 1953.
Numerals In the early years of
this century additional awards of the Good Conduct Medal were noted on the
ribbon bar worn on the uniform by the use of bronze numerals. These numerals
were replaced by bronze stars in 1946.
Stars From January 4, 1953 to
the present bronze stars three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter have been used
on both the Good Conduct Medal and its ribbon bar to denote additional awards.
First Award The first Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal was awarded to Sergeant Friedrick
Barchewitz.
Designer The Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal was designed by Major General Charles
Heywood
(USMC)
Description and Symbolism Obverse
In the center of a bronze medallion one and a quarter inches in diameter, a
Marine gunner is depicted serving a naval gun. This scene is encircled within a
rope, and beneath it is a scroll bearing the motto SEMPER FIDELIS. Encircling the rope
are the words UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS. The whole scene rests upon a foul
anchor with its crown tilted to the right. The encircling anchor chain is
within the raised rim of the medal. The medal is suspended from a bolt action
rifle.
The general theme of the design is taken from the Navy Good Conduct Medal,
modified to make it more appropriate for the Marine Corps. Thus, the Constitution
in the Navy Medal is replaced by a Marine is dressed in the period of the Civil
War; his servicing a naval gun alludes to the role played by Marines aboard
warships. The motto SEMPER FIDELIS (Always Faithful) is the official motto of the
Marine Corps. The rifle suspender is the Lee Navy rifle, a high velocity
magazine fed bolt action rifle that used .236 ammunition. The rope, anchor, and
chain are nautical symbols that refer to naval service.
Reverse In the center of a
bronze medallion one and a quarter inches in diameter, there is a blank space
for the engraving of the recipient's name. Around the inside rim of the medal,
the words FIDELITY (on the left); OBEDIENCE (on the right), and ZEAL (at the bottom).
Ribbon
The
ribbon to the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal consists of a field of dark red
bisected by a stripe of dark blue. The dark red is taken from the Navy Good
Conduct Medal and the blue central stripe, which represents the Marine Corps,
is added to distinguish the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal from the Navy Good
Conduct Medal.
Numbering
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals were numbered from their inception up to (and
including part of) World War II. The style and placement of the numbering
varied over time but for most of this period the number was engraved as part of
the naming of the medal. A major exception to this was a group of 50,000 medals
rim numbered in the 20000 to 70000 range. These medals were issued to Marines
who had enlisted for the duration of the First World War and were issued
unnamed. USMC Good Conduct Medals were also named from their inception to 1951,
when the practice was discontinued. The style of naming has varied over the
years and ranges from elaborate and artistic engraving in the early years to
simple impressed naming in the later years.