Afro-Asiatic languages

formerly Hamito-Semitic languages

Family of about 250 languages spoken in North Africa, parts of sub-Saharan African, and the Middle East. It includes such languages as Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, and Hausa. The total number of speakers is estimated to be more than 250 million. The major branches of Afro-Asiatic are Semitic, Berber, Egyptian, Cushitic, Omotic, and Chadic. Berber languages are spoken by perhaps 15 million people in enclaves scattered across North Africa from Morocco to northwestern Egypt and in parts of the western Sahara. Cushitic consists of some 30 languages spoken by more than 30 million people in northeastern Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, and a few areas of northeastern Tanzania. Omotic, formerly classified as part of Cushitic, is a cluster of perhaps more than 30 languages spoken by 2–3 million people, most of whom live near the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia. Chadic comprises about 140 languages (most of which are poorly known to linguists), spoken in northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, and northern Cameroon; except for Hausa, it is likely that no individual Chadic language has more than half a million speakers.

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The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

There were twenty one official Army campaigns of the Pacific Theater [48 Navy/Marine campaigns], denoted on the service medal by service stars. The arrowhead device is authorized for those campaigns which involved amphibious assaults. The Fleet Marine Force combat operation insignia is also authorized for certain sailors. The flag colors of Japan and the United States are visible in the ribbon.

The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was first issued as a ribbon in 1941. A full medal was authorized in 1947, the first of which was presented to General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. The European Theater equivalent of the decoration was known as the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

Army campaigns

Authorized Army campaigns for the Pacific Theater are as follows:

• Philippine Islands 7 Dec 41 - 10 May 42
• Burma, 1942 7 Dec 41 - 26 May 42
• Central Pacific 7 Dec 41 - 6 Dec 43
• East Indies 1 Jan 42 - 22 Jul 42
• India-Burma 2 Apr 42 - 28 Jan 45
• Air Offensive, Japan 17 Apr 42 - 2 Sep 45
• Aleutian Islands 3 Jun 42 - 24 Aug 43
• China Defensive 4 Jul 42 - 4 May 45
• Papua 23 Jul 42 - 23 Jan 43
• Guadalcanal 7 Aug 42 - 21 Feb 43
• New Guinea 24 Jan 43 - 31 Dec 44
• Northern Solomons 22 Feb 43 - 21 Nov 44
• Eastern Mandates 7 Dec 43 - 14 Jun 44
• Bismarck Archipelago 15 Dec 43 - 27 Nov 44
• Western Pacific 17 Apr 44 - 2 Sep 45
• Leyte 17 Oct 44 - 1 Jul 45
• Luzon 15 Dec 44 - 4 Jul 45
• Central Burma 29 Jan 45 - 15 Jul 45
• Southern Philippines 27 Feb 45 - 4 Jul 45
• Ryukyus 26 Mar 45 - 2 Jul 45
• China Offensive 5 May 45 - 2 Sep 45

Navy campaigns

Authorized Navy campaigns for the Pacific Theater are as follows:

• Pearl Harbor--Midway 7 Dec 41
• Wake Island (Johnston Island 15-22 Dec 41) 8-23 Dec 41
• Philippine Islands Operation 8 Dec 41-6 May 42
• Netherlands East Indies engagements 23 Jan-27 Feb 42
• Pacific Specified Raids—1942 1 Feb 42-10 Mar 42
• Coral Sea 4-8 May 42
• Midway 3-6 Jun 42
• Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings (including First Savo) 7-9 Aug 42
• Capture and defense of Guadalcanal 10 Aug 42-8 Feb 43
• Makin Raid 17-18 Aug 42
• Eastern Solomons (Stewart Island) 23-25 Aug 42
• Buin-Faisi-Tonolai raid 5 Oct 42
• Cape Esperance (Second Savo) 11-12 Oct 42
• Santa Cruz Islands 26 Oct 42
• Guadalcanal (Third Savo) 12-15 Nov 42
• Tassafaronga (Fourth Savo) 30 Nov-1 Dec 42
• Eastern New Guinea operation 17 Dec 42-24 Jul 44
• Rennel Island 29-30 Jan 43
• Consolidation of Solomon Islands 8 Feb 43-15 Mar 45
• Aleutians operation 26 Mar-2 Jun 43
• New Georgia Group operation 20 Jun-16 Oct 43
• Bismarck Archipelago operation 25 Jun 43-1 May 44
• Pacific Specified Raids—1943 31 Aug 43-6 Oct 43
• Treasury-Bougainville operation 27 Oct-15 Dec 43
• Gilbert Islands operation 13 Nov-8 Dec 43
• Marshall Islands operation 26 Nov 43-2 Mar 44
• Asiatic-Pacific Specified Raids—1944 16 Feb 44-9 Oct 44
• Western New Guinea operations 21 Apr 44-9 Jan 45
• Marianas operation 10 Jun-27 Aug 44
• Western Caroline Islands operation 31 Aug-14 Oct 44
• Leyte operation 10 Oct-29 Nov 44
• Luzon operation 12 Dec 44-1 Apr 45
• Iwo Jima operation 15 Feb-16 Mar 45
• Okinawa Gunto operation 17 Mar-30 Jun 45
• 3d Fleet operations against Japan 10 Jul-15 Aug 45
• Kurile Islands operation 1 Feb 44-11 Aug 45
• Borneo operations 27 Apr-20 Jul 45
• Tinian capture and occupation 24 Jul-1 Aug 44
• Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines 28 Feb-20 Jul 45
• Hollandia operation (Aitape Humbolt Bay-Tanahmerah Bay) 21 Apr-1 Jun 44
• Manila Bay-Bicol operations 29 Jan-16 Apr 45
• U.S.S. Navajo--Salvage operations 8 Aug 42-3 Feb 43
• Action off Vanikoro 17-21 Jul 43
• Naval Group China (6 months duty required) 19 Feb 43-4 May 45
• Task Group 30.4 22 May-15 Jun 44
• Task Group 12.2 5 Jul-9 Aug 44
• Specified Minesweeping Operations Pacific 23 Jun 45-2 Mar 46
• Submarine War Patrols (Pacific – 1 star for participation in each war patrol) 7 Dec 41-2 Sep 45

Other campaigns

For members of the military who did not receive campaign credit, but still served on active duty in the Pacific Theater, the following “blanket” campaigns are authorized for which the medal is awarded without service stars.

• Antisubmarine 7 Dec 41 - 2 Sep 45
• Ground Combat: 7 Dec 41 - 2 Sep 45
• Air Combat: 7 Dec 41 - 2 Sep 45

External links

• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - Criteria, Background, and Images
• Navy Authorized Pacific Theater Engagements