State Prisoner of War Medal — Two Residency Routes and No Minimum Captivity
The Governor may present a state POW medal to a person officially listed as a prisoner of war by the Department of Defense who was a resident when inducted, or who is a resident now, or was one at death. There is no required period of captivity, and the medal may be awarded posthumously to next of kin.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
The Governor may present a state POW medal to a person officially listed as a prisoner of war by the Department of Defense who was a resident when inducted, or who is a resident now, or was one at death. There is no required period of captivity, and the medal may be awarded posthumously to next of kin.
What it's worth: A state medal and ribbon, one per person, presented by the Governor
- Route one: resident of the State on the date of induction into the organised militia or federal military service, and officially listed as a prisoner of war by the United States Department of Defense while serving on active duty in a combat theatre of operation during a time of war or emergency.
- Route two: not a resident on the date of induction, but currently resides here — or was a resident at the time of death — with the same prisoner-of-war listing.
- Route three: meets the residency test of route one or two, and was taken prisoner and held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States, in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force, or serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict where the United States is not a belligerent party.
- The department determines eligibility in consultation with the Adjutant General, and the secretary decides route-three cases individually.
- There is no required period of captivity; comparable cases of captivity by enemy forces during armed conflict are the yardstick.
- The department may require a copy of DD Form 214 or WD Form 53 and any other information needed to determine eligibility.
- A person convicted by a United States military tribunal of misconduct or a criminal charge, or whose discharge is less than honorable based on actions while a POW, is ineligible. So is a POW whose conduct was not in accord with the Code of Conduct where the military records document it.
- No person may be awarded more than one such medal.
- The medal may be awarded for a deceased person, or a person still absent as a prisoner of war, and presented to next of kin.
- Nothing requires the secretary or the Adjutant General to provide or pay for the medal or ribbon; a special POW Medal Fund in the State Treasury receives public donations for the design, production, purchase and presentation.
Who is entitled to it
- The medal goes to the former prisoner of war, or to next of kin.
- Your home is in South Carolina.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Nominate rather than apply. §25-11-560 requires the department to develop and implement a plan to accept nominations, so the route in is a nomination — often made by a family member or a service organisation.
- 2Work out which residency route fits before you write. Residency at induction is one route; present residency, or residency at death, is a separate one, and families often assume only the first exists.
- 3Send the DD Form 214, or the WD Form 53 for the oldest cases. The statute names both.
- 4Do not be put off by a short captivity. The statute says expressly that there is no required period.
- 5For a case that does not fit the plain prisoner-of-war listing — captivity by a force the United States was not formally at war with, for example — press for a route-three determination. The secretary decides those individually.
- 6Nominate for a relative who died, or who never came home. The medal may be presented to next of kin in both cases.
- 7Expect the medal itself to be funded by donations. That is how the statute sets it up, and it can affect timing.
- Form
- Nomination under the department’s published plan
- File with
- South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
Why only one source type: The seven sections creating the medal were read in full this session. The department’s nomination plan, which would add the form, sits on a site that refused every connection.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.