expeditionary / RIBBON WALL ART
Navy Expeditionary Medal
Explore the Navy Expeditionary Medal ribbon, its official award references, and an oversized wall display concept.
Ribbon reference (devices may vary). Image reference ↗ · Award chart ↗. Digital references guide the concept; they are not final production color or textile specifications.
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Explore an oversized, permanently nonwearable wall-art interpretation. Choose a preview width and arrange your display. Plan for individual ribbons, ribbons with individual mounts, or ribbons with a corresponding display rack.
Add to my display planAbout this ribbon
2019 manual labels the authorization date as effective date, but NHHC historical qualifying operations extend to Honolulu, February 1874. Explicit operation windows below preserve retroactive eligibility; they are not continuous eligibility.
Service years and award dates
Years help surface possibilities. A date overlap does not show that someone earned an award. Some date rules describe completion, specific operations or retroactive eligibility, rather than a universal service window.
| Dates | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Feb 12, 1874 – Feb 20, 1874 | Hawaiian Islands: Honolulu, Tuscarora and Portsmouth landing parties; earliest listed expedition Source ↗ |
| Jun 10, 1882 – Aug 29, 1882 | Egypt: Alexandria, Lancaster, Nipsic and Quinnebaug; combined NHHC award page gives 29 August terminal date Source ↗ |
| Mar 31, 1885 – May 22, 1885 | Colombia: State of Panama, combined overlapping shore/Galena landing-party dates Source ↗ |
| Jun 19, 1888 – Jun 30, 1888 | Korea: Seoul, Essex landing party Source ↗ |
| Nov 13, 1888 – Mar 20, 1889 | Samoa: Apia, Nipsic landing party Source ↗ |
| Jul 30, 1889 – Jul 31, 1889 | Hawaiian Islands: Honolulu, Adams landing party Source ↗ |
| Jul 30, 1890 – Jul 30, 1890 | Argentina: Buenos Aires, Tallapoosa landing party Source ↗ |
| May 2, 1891 – Jun 20, 1891 | Haiti: Navassa Island, Kearsarge landing party Source ↗ |
| Aug 28, 1891 – Aug 30, 1891 | Chile: Valparaiso, San Francisco and Baltimore landing parties Source ↗ |
| Jan 16, 1893 – Apr 1, 1893 | Hawaiian Islands: Honolulu, Boston landing party Source ↗ |
| Jul 6, 1894 – Aug 7, 1894 | Nicaragua: Bluefields, combined overlapping Marblehead and Columbia landing-party dates Source ↗ |
| Jul 24, 1894 – Apr 3, 1896 | Korea: Seoul, combined overlapping landing-party dates of Baltimore, Charleston, Concord, Detroit, Yorktown and Machias Source ↗ |
| Dec 4, 1894 – May 16, 1895 | China: Tientsin, Baltimore landing party Source ↗ |
| Mar 1, 1895 – Mar 18, 1895 | China: Chefoo, Yorktown landing party Source ↗ |
| Mar 8, 1895 – Mar 9, 1895 | Colombia: Boca del Toro, Atlanta landing party Source ↗ |
| May 2, 1896 – May 4, 1896 | Nicaragua: Corinto, Alert landing party Source ↗ |
| Feb 7, 1898 – Feb 8, 1898 | Nicaragua: San Juan del Sur, Alert landing party Source ↗ |
| Nov 4, 1898 – Mar 13, 1899 | China: Peiping or Tientsin, Boston landing party Source ↗ |
| Feb 24, 1899 – Feb 28, 1899 | Nicaragua: Bluefields, Marietta landing party Source ↗ |
| Nov 11, 1901 – Dec 4, 1901 | Colombia: State of Panama, Machias, Marietta, Iowa and Concord landing parties Source ↗ |
| Apr 17, 1902 – Apr 19, 1902 | Colombia: Boca del Toro, Machias landing party Source ↗ |
| Sep 18, 1902 – Sep 22, 1902 | Colombia: Isthmus of Panama, Ranger landing party Source ↗ |
| Sep 23, 1902 – Nov 18, 1902 | Colombia: Panama, Colon and railroad, Panther landing party Source ↗ |
| Mar 21, 1903 – Apr 16, 1903 | Honduras: Truxillo, La Ceiba or Puerto Cortez, listed ship landing parties Source ↗ |
| Apr 1, 1903 – Apr 19, 1903 | Dominican Republic: Santo Domingo City, Atlanta landing party Source ↗ |
| Sep 8, 1903 – Sep 13, 1903 | Syria: Beirut, Brooklyn and San Francisco landing parties Source ↗ |
| Oct 10, 1903 – Oct 17, 1903 | Syria: Beirut, Brooklyn landing party (other ship applicability requires checking the original table) Source ↗ |
| Nov 4, 1903 – Feb 26, 1904 | Republic of Panama; includes listed Colon and Porto Bello landing-party dates within this span Source ↗ |
| Nov 21, 1903 – Jan 18, 1904 | Abyssinia: Djibouti, landing parties from Brooklyn, Machias and San Francisco Source ↗ |
| Jan 5, 1904 – Nov 11, 1905 | Korea: American Legation Guard, Seoul Source ↗ |
| Feb 25, 1904 – Feb 27, 1904 | Dominican Republic: San Pedro de Macoris, Yankee landing party Source ↗ |
| Apr 28, 1907 – May 23, 1907 | Honduras: Laguna, Paducah landing party Source ↗ |
| May 24, 1907 – Jun 8, 1907 | Honduras: Choloma, Paducah landing party Source ↗ |
| Dec 20, 1909 – Mar 15, 1910 | Nicaragua: Corinto, Buffalo landing party Source ↗ |
| May 30, 1910 – Sep 4, 1910 | Nicaragua: Bluefields Source ↗ |
| Sep 17, 1911 – Nov 18, 1911 | Philippine Islands: Pampanga landing party Source ↗ |
| Oct 10, 1911 – Jan 19, 1914 | China: Peiping and Shanghai, Rainbow and others; American Legation Guard in Peiping Source ↗ |
| May 28, 1912 – Aug 5, 1912 | Cuba: Guantanamo Bay and other points Source ↗ |
| Nov 15, 1912 – Apr 5, 1917 | Nicaragua: Legation Guard, Managua Source ↗ |
| Jan 26, 1914 – Feb 10, 1914 | Haiti: Port-au-Prince, combined overlapping Montana and South Carolina landing-party dates Source ↗ |
| Feb 1, 1914 – Feb 3, 1914 | Haiti: Gonaives, Eagle landing party Source ↗ |
| Aug 15, 1914 – Oct 30, 1914 | Dominican Republic Source ↗ |
| Oct 18, 1914 – Nov 7, 1914 | Haiti: Cape Haitien, Tacoma landing party Source ↗ |
| Oct 31, 1914 – Nov 14, 1914 | Republic of Haiti Source ↗ |
| Nov 26, 1914 – Dec 11, 1914 | Dominican Republic Source ↗ |
| Dec 13, 1914 – Dec 17, 1914 | Republic of Haiti Source ↗ |
| Dec 7, 1915 – Apr 5, 1917 | Republic of Haiti Source ↗ |
| Dec 5, 1916 – Apr 5, 1917 | Dominican Republic Source ↗ |
| Nov 12, 1918 – Mar 31, 1919 | Republic of Haiti; combined NHHC award page gives12 November start Source ↗ |
| Nov 12, 1918 – Aug 3, 1925 | Nicaragua: Legation Guard, Managua Source ↗ |
| Mar 31, 1920 – Nov 19, 1922 | Siberia: Russian Island Source ↗ |
| Jun 16, 1920 – Nov 25, 1924 | Republic of Haiti Source ↗ |
| Jun 28, 1921 – Jul 3, 1921 | Turkey: Ismir, Humphreys landing party Source ↗ |
| Sep 7, 1922 – Oct 5, 1922 | Turkey: Smyrna, overlapping exact dates from Litchfield, Simpson, Edsall and MacLeish landing parties Source ↗ |
| Oct 8, 1922 – Oct 18, 1922 | Turkey: Smyrna, Lawrence landing party Source ↗ |
| Feb 28, 1924 – Mar 13, 1924 | Honduras: La Ceiba, Puerto Cortez and Tela; Billingsley, Denver and Lardner landing parties Source ↗ |
| Mar 18, 1924 – Apr 30, 1924 | Honduras: Tegulcigalpa, Milwaukee landing party Source ↗ |
| Sep 9, 1924 – Mar 1, 1925 | China: Legation Guard, Peiping Source ↗ |
| Nov 7, 1924 – Nov 11, 1924 | China: Chefoo, Huron landing party Source ↗ |
| Jan 15, 1925 – Jan 23, 1925 | China: Shanghai, Sacramento landing party Source ↗ |
| Apr 3, 1925 – Apr 3, 1925 | China: Wuchow, armed guard from Pampanga Source ↗ |
| Jul 25, 1925 – Aug 31, 1925 | China: Shanghai, combined overlapping Noa (25 July–10 August) and Preble (4–31 August) landing-party dates Source ↗ |
| May 7, 1926 – Jun 4, 1926 | Nicaragua: Bluefields, Cleveland landing party Source ↗ |
| Apr 22, 1928 – May 3, 1928 | China: armed guard on board S.S. I'Ping Source ↗ |
| Apr 15, 1929 – Apr 15, 1929 | China: personnel attached to Oahu at Ichang Source ↗ |
| Dec 4, 1929 – Aug 5, 1931 | Republic of Haiti while martial law was in effect Source ↗ |
| Dec 12, 1937 – Dec 12, 1937 | China: personnel on board Panay Source ↗ |
| Dec 7, 1941 – Dec 22, 1941 | Defense of Wake Island; silver W device authorized Source ↗ |
| Dec 8, 1978 – Jun 6, 1979 | Iran, Yemen and Indian Ocean area afloat service; official Marine history explicitly authorizes MCEM for Marines and NEM for Navy counterparts Source ↗ |
| Nov 21, 1979 – Oct 20, 1981 | Iran, Yemen and Indian Ocean area afloat service; official Marine history explicitly authorizes MCEM for Marines and NEM for Navy counterparts Source ↗ |
| Aug 20, 1982 – May 31, 1983 | Lebanon; designated units and participation criteria apply. Source ↗ |
| Jan 20, 1986 – Jun 27, 1986 | Libya; designated units and participation criteria apply. Source ↗ |
| Feb 1, 1987 – Jul 23, 1987 | Persian Gulf; designated units and participation criteria apply. Source ↗ |
| Aug 5, 1990 – Feb 21, 1991 | Liberia (Sharp Edge); designated units and participation criteria apply. Source ↗ |
| Apr 7, 1994 – Apr 18, 1994 | Rwanda (Distant Runner); designated units and participation criteria apply. Source ↗ |
| Jun 6, 1998 – Jun 25, 1998 | Eritrea (Safe Departure); designated units and participation criteria apply. Source ↗ |
| Oct 12, 2000 – Dec 15, 2002 | USS Cole (Determined Response); designated units and participation criteria apply. Source ↗ |
| Jan 3, 1961 – Oct 23, 1962 | Navy Expeditionary Medal for Cuba operations before the quarantine; naval and marine personnel in designated Cuban waters (12–28 N,66–84 W). This source explicitly names NEM; MCEM counterpart requires separate verification. Source ↗ |
Research notes and remaining questions
- Verified windows are a partial list of all qualifying operations; do not assume gaps mean ineligibility.
- 2019 and NHHC older sources disagree on day of Navy G.O.84 authorization (5 vs 15 August 1936); current manual used for established_date.
- Historical source table omits some month-only periods and contains Egypt 1882 and Haiti 1918 terminal/start-day discrepancies; see coverage notes. Full eligible ship and unit rosters are not encoded.
Official award references
Consult the applicable service guidance for eligibility, precedence and authorized devices.
- SECNAV M-1650.1, Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (16 August 2019) ↗Appendix 4A Tab 26, Table 28, pp. 4-72–4-73
- NHHC: Navy Expeditionary Medal, Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal ↗Historical expedition table; Honolulu 1874
Not sure what they earned?
A ribbon name, a photograph of an existing rack, or service records can be a useful starting point. Our guide points you toward official records-request services.
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