The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by Executive Order 9265 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had performed military service in the American Theater of Operations during World War II.  

The American Campaign Medal was issued as a service ribbon only during the Second World War, and was not issued as a full-sized medal until 1947.

The first recipient of the American Campaign Medal was General of the Army George C. Marshall, Jr.

In January 2020, the United States Air Force retroactively authorized the American Campaign streamer to fly from the flag of the Civil Air Patrol located at CAP National Headquarters, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The streamer recognizes CAP's involvement in coastal patrol operations between May and August of 1943 while attached to Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command.