Medal of Freedom (1945)

Description

The medal is a bronze disc whose obverse features the profile of the Statue of Freedom of the US Capitol Building, with the word "FREEDOM" in capital letters in an arc at the bottom of the disc. The reverse features the Liberty Bell surrounded by the words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in capital letters. The medal is suspended on a red ribbon with four thin white stripes. The original Executive Order 9586 establishing the medal specified "No more than one Medal of Freedom shall be awarded to any one person, but for a subsequent act or service justifying such an award a suitable device may be awarded to be worn with the medal" and bronze, silver, and gold palm devices were produced and awarded. There is no evidence of U.S. citizens having received these palm devices, whereas some non-U.S. citizens did receive them (e.g. Micheline "Michou" Dumon, Nancy Wake and Andrée de Jongh), and the devices have been interpreted as signifying degrees of the award.