Established to recognize the service of Officers and Seamen who served on under the purview of the War Shipping Administration between 7 December 1941 and 8 November 1945, the Merchant Marine Atlantic War Zone Bar was created as a ribbon-only award through an Act of Congress on 10 May 1944. The Atlantic Zone is defined by statute as the North and South Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Greenland Sea, and Barents Sea. According to records published at the American Merchant Marine at War Web site, 235, 298 mariners were recipients of the ribbon.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on 19 May 1992 that a medal would be available for the Atlantic War Zone bar and for other Merchant Marine awards that to that point had been issued only as ribbons. A compass rose forms the background of the medal’s obverse side and symbolizes navigation, while the superimposed triangle is a common emblem of duty and service to country in services apart from the Armed Forces.