US Meritorious Service Medal Cased Set

Material: Bronze
Size: 36mm diameter (medal); case 165mm × 95mm
Description: This complete military award presentation set features the United States Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) alongside its corresponding service ribbon bar and enamel lapel pin, all resting inside a plush display case insert. Designed by Jay Morris and sculpted by Lewis J. King, Jr. of the Army's Institute of Heraldry, the bronze medallion showcases an intricate, highly symbolic obverse layout. The design features an American bald eagle with wings proudly upraised, standing on two upward-curving laurel branches that are tied with a small ribbon between its talons. Positioned directly behind the eagle's upper body is a crisp, five-pointed star displaying beveled edges, containing two smaller nested stars defined by incised contours, with six distinct decorative rays emanating upward from the top three points of the star. The medal is suspended from a matching crimson ribbon bordered by dual white stripes, a specific palette chosen to mirror the prestigious Legion of Merit.
Reverse: Circular field surrounded by a sunburst edge, inscribed UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – MERITORIOUS SERVICE.
Circa: The decoration was formally established by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11448 on January 16, 1969. It has been continuously manufactured and awarded to qualifying military personnel from that date up through the present day.
Notes:
While initially introduced strictly as a decoration for peacetime achievements, policy changes enacted on September 11, 2001, expanded its utility. This shift allowed the medal to be bestowed for outstanding non-combat achievements within active combat theaters, frequently serving as an alternative to the Bronze Star Medal.