national defense service medal medals of america est. 1976 <p>initially authorized by executive order on april 22, 1953. it is awarded to members of the u.s. armed forces for any honorable active federal service during the korean war (june 27, 1950 - july 27, 1954), vietnam war (january 1, 1961- august 14, 1974), desert shield/desert storm (august 2, 1990 - november 30, 1995) and/or operations iraqi freedom and enduring freedom (afghanistan) (september 11, 2001 to a date tbd).