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Museum object · Awards, Medals, and Insignia

United States Department of State Distinguished Honor Award

January 1981

Providence, Rhode Island, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A United States Department of State Distinguished Honor Award issued to Ambassador William Beverly Carter, Jr. This medal is a composite object: a bar pin with a safety catch, holding a white ribbon attached to a gold medal. The ribbon is looped over the front of the bar pin. The ribbon is white with three (3), thin, vertical, navy blue stripes. The bottom of the ribbon is threaded through the bail at the top of the medal. The medal is gold toned and roughly rounded. The obverse is dominated by the Great Seal of the United States: a bald eagle with its wings displayed, holding a bundle of thirteen (13) arrows in its left talon and an olive branch in its right talon. In its beak, the eagle clutches a scroll with the motto [E PLURIBUS] and [UNUM].

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: A2019.45.1.2

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