Service on shore at Shanghai or in the valley of the Yangtze River between 3 September 1926 to 21 October 1927 and 1 March 1930 to 31 December 1932.[1]
The decoration may also be awarded for those military service members who served on permanent duty in Shanghai, China, provided such service was in direct support of landing operations in the Yangtze River Valley (e.g. Nanking incident of 1927). The Yangtze Service Medal was declared obsolete in 1940 when it was replaced by the China Service Medal.
The designer of the Yangtze Service Medal is John R. Sinnock of the Philadelphia Mint.[2] Sinnock was the eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1925 to 1947.