The Walter Reed Medal is a military decoration

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...

 of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 which was created by an act of the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 on February 28, 1929. The medal recognizes the accomplishments of both United States civilian and Army doctors who investigated the cause and treatment of yellow fever

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 between 1901 and 1902.

The Walter Reed Medal, named for Major Walter Reed

Walter Reed

Major Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact...

 (1851 to 1902) was a one time only decoration which was retroactive by design. The award was intended to denote the accomplishments of a group of American medical personnel who had discovered that the cause of yellow fever was that of infection caused by the mosquito

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...

. As part of the so named “Yellow Fever Investigation”, twenty four Americans had exposed themselves to yellow fever in certain areas of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 between 1900 and 1901. The Walter Reed Medal recognized the bravery of both living in a disease infested area for the cause of science, and also the enormous significance of discovering the cause of yellow fever.

The original Walter Reed Medal was first bestowed upon the following Americans:

• Aristides Agramonte
• John H. Andrus
• John R. Bullard
• James Carroll
• Robert P. Cooke
• Albert W. Covington
• William H. Dean
• Thomas M. England
• Levi E. Folk
• Wallace W. Forbes
• Paul Hamann
• James L. Hanberry
• James Hildebrand
• Warren G. Jernegan
• John R. Kissinger
• Jesse William Lazear
• John J. Moran
• William Olsen
• Walter Reed
  Walter Reed
  Major Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact...
  
  
• Charles Sonntag
• Edward Weaterwalks
• Clyde L. West

Around the time 1957, the Medal had also been awarded to Gustaf E. Lambert and Roger Post Ames.

Surviving Walter Reed Medals appear as bronze medallions, upon which is the image of Walter Reed. Earlier versions of the medal depicted the figures of a man and a woman, with the woman holding a caduceus

Caduceus

The caduceus is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings...

and the medal bearing the words “Conquest of Yellow Fever”. There are no known original Walter Reed Medals in existence with the later version being the only surviving examples.

While the Walter Reed Medal was an official United States Army award, the medal was never designed to be worn on a military uniform and did not appear on any military precedence charts nor are there any photographs of the medal being displayed on an active military uniform. A red ribbon for the medal did exist and was authorized for wear on civilian attire.