Naval History and Heritage Command

Title: NACA Distinguished Service Medal
Accession #: NHHC 1988-101-C
Circa: 1950's
Size: 
Medium: Metal, Fabric
Location: Headquarters Artifact Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command

One NACA Distinguished Service Medal. The planchet has a gold-wash. The obverse planchet bears the insignia for NACA depicting the 1903 Wright brothers flight at Kitty Hawk, NC. Around the rim of the face is "National Advisory Council for Aeronautics / U.S.A." The reverse planchet is marked "Distinguished Service" in raised letters. A suspension ring attaches the planchet to a tapered ribbon. The ribbon is blue with two small stripes of white near the center. The pin and clasp is sewn on. 

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics established two awards in November 1954 to recognize the superior service of NACA employees. These awards were the NACA Distinguished Service Medal and the NACA Exceptional Service Medal. Both medals are similar in appearance, bearing the seal of NACA that was approved by President Eisenhower in 1953. The differences between the two medals consist of the color of the ribbon and the planchet material. The Distinguished Service Medal recognized distinguished service to NACA. Only seven of these medals were awarded between 1954 and 1958 when NACA was assumed into NASA.