Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medal
Title: Medal, Public Health Service Outstanding Service
Accession #: NHHC 1999-140-F
Circa: 1900's
Size: 3.25 x 1.5
Medium: Metal, Fabric
Location: Headquarters Artifact Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command
One Outstanding Service Medal from the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The planchet is silver and circular in shape. At the center of the obverse is a rod of Asclepius crossed with a horizontal foul anchor in the background with an eagle holding a federal shield in the foreground. Around the edge of the face are the embossed words "Public Health Service / United States of America." The reverse is blank. A small suspension ring attaches the medal to a tapered ribbon. The ribbon is maroon with dark blue and white pinstripes on both edges and an ultramarine blue stripe in the center.
Recipients of the award fall into one of three categories, most commonly those who have displayed ongoing outstanding leadership in carrying out the Corps’ mission of the protection, promotion, and advancement of the nation’s health and safety. The medal is also awarded to officers accomplishing service that has had a significant impact on the health of the country, or a heroic act that preserved life or property.
