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Service stripe
A service stripe, commonly called a hash mark, is a decoration of the United States military which is authorized for wear by enlisted members of the U.S. military to denote length of service.
Usage examples of "service stripe".
He wore a good service stripe upon his cheek, for on one side it was pitted and scarred where a spurt of gravel knocked up by a round-shot had struck him thirty years before, when he served in the Lancaster gun-battery.
She took time for a tight, small grin about Paul's jealousy, because that was a new service stripe to sew on her sleeve, and then back to Wan.