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What symbol appears on the Medal for Merit badge?

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Curie, Marie and Pierre; medal — medal Pierre and Marie Curie depicted on the obverse of a medal from the Unio Internationalis Contra Cancrum (International Union Against Cancer) commemorating the Curies' discovery of radium in 1898.

The badge of the Medal for Merit, a U.S. civilian decoration established in 1942, features an eagle with outspread wings positioned on a blue circle that is decorated with 13 white stars.1