The Vietnam Service Medal (VSM) is a military award

Awards and decorations of the United States military

Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces...

 which was created in 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The distinctive design was the creation of sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones

Thomas Hudson Jones

Thomas Hudson Jones was a U.S. sculptor for the Army's Institute of Heraldry.His father was an engraver and encouraged him from childhood to be a sculptor. He attended the Albright Art School in Buffalo, NY. At 19 he won the Prix de Rome Fellowship for 3 years of study at the American Academy of...

, a former employee of the Army Institute of Heraldry. The medal is issued to recognize military service during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 and is authorized to service members in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, provided they meet the qualification criteria in United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 regulation DoD 1348.

The Vietnam Service Medal is presented to any service member who served on temporary duty for more than 30 consecutive days, or 60 non-consecutive days, attached to or regularly serving for one, or more, days with an organization participating in or directly supporting ground (military) operations or attached to or regularly serving for one, or more, days aboard a naval vessel directly supporting military operations in the Republic of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos within the defined combat zone (DoD 1348 C6.6.1.1.5.