personal decoration / RIBBON WALL ART

Specially Meritorious Service Medal

Explore the Specially Meritorious Service Medal ribbon, its official award references, and an oversized wall display concept.

Image pending

An isolated ribbon image has not yet been confirmed. This named placeholder keeps the award available without inventing a stripe pattern.

Give the story
a place at home.

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 plan

Fabric and 3D printed finishes are in development. Physical samples will establish the final colors, texture, devices, mounting and pricing.

About this ribbon

The official NHHC Paymaster Galt artifact documents an act on 26 April 1898, earlier than the 1 May start often given by secondary summaries.

Catalog associations: Navy, Marine Corps. Historical or discontinued award retained for veterans and families. Branch associations are browsing guidance; other service awards may also appear in a veteran’s record.

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.

Listed service periods and date rules
Dates	What the source says
Jan 1, 1898 – Dec 31, 1898	Specially meritorious nonbattle service during the war with Spain; year level only Source ↗

Date coverage is not certified complete. The finder keeps this entry available when listed dates do not overlap.

Research notes and remaining questions

Exact general qualifying start/end not verified;do not use common May 1– August 16 range without primarysource.

Official award references

Consult the applicable service guidance for eligibility, precedence and authorized devices.

Naval History and Heritage Command / Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual ↗Part I Section 16,p 10

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.

Find military awards and service records