South Vietnamese decorations

South Vietnamese decorations

South Vietnamese decorations, also known as awards of the Republic of Vietnam, were first issued to United States service members beginning around 1964. Over the next three years, the awards were mainly confined to the senior leadership of the United States Military Assistance Command, but by 1967, the large presence of U.S. troops in Vietnam led to a common practice of awarding Vietnamese decorations to U.S. soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen.

Throughout the Vietnam War, the Military Merit Medal was awarded solely to enlisted U.S. service members who had been killed in action, while the National Order and Distinguished Service Order were awarded only to senior U.S. military personnel. By far the most common Vietnamese decorations awarded to U.S. troops were the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Gallantry Cross Unit Citation; the Campaign Medal was awarded for six months of service in Vietnam while the Gallantry Cross unit citation was almost automatic for U.S. Army personnel and quite common in other service branches as well. In 1974, a General Order of the U.S. Army made the Gallantry Cross Unit Citation automatic for any soldier who had spent any amount of time in Vietnam; this has led to this decoration being arguably the most commonly awarded foreign decoration of all time.

The Civil Actions Medal and unit citation were also commonly awarded to members of the United States Marine Corps making this a very common decoration seen on U.S. Marine Corps uniforms. The remainder of Vietnamese medals, such as the Air and Navy Gallantry Cross and the Staff and Special Service Medals, were awarded with different frequency between the U.S. service branches and amongst officer/enlisted personnel.

In the 21st century United States military, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Gallantry Cross, and the Gallantry Cross/Civil Action/Presidential unit citations are still authorized for wear on U.S. uniforms and many senior officers today, who began their careers in Vietnam, can be seen wearing such medals. However, since the nation of South Vietnam no longer exists, these medals and ribbons must be privately purchased and there are no channels for the retroactive award of said medals, except in the case of the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Gallantry Cross Unit Citation which are considered automatic decorations and can be added to a DD Form 214 by request through the military service branch or through NPRC in St. Louis, Missouri.

=See also=
Authorized foreign decorations of the United States military


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Authorized foreign decorations of the United States military — are those military decorations which have been approved for wear by members of the United States armed forces but whose awarding authority is the government of a country other than the United States. Policy and DeterminationThe wear of foreign… …   Wikipedia

  • South San Francisco, California — City of South San Francisco   City   South San Francisco as viewed from a nearby ridge Nickname(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Awards and decorations of the Vietnam War — were military decorations which were bestowed by the major warring parties during the years of the Vietnam War. North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States all issued awards and decorations during the conflict.In the modern age, many… …   Wikipedia

  • Ted Serong — Francis Philip Serong DSO, OBE (1915 2002) was a distinguished officer of the Australian Army.Serong was a quiet, deep thinker, brilliant tactician, very brave in the field and a good leader , according to one of Australia s most respected… …   Wikipedia

  • Presidential Unit Citation (United States) — Presidential Unit Citation Army and Air Force P.U.C …   Wikipedia

  • William Westmoreland — Infobox Military Person name= William Westmoreland born= birth date|1914|03|26 died= death date and age|2005|07|18|1914|05|26 placeofbirth=Spartanburg County, South Carolina placeofdeath=Charleston, South Carolina placeofburial= caption= nickname …   Wikipedia

  • Tan Son Nhut Air Base — Infobox Airport name = Tan Son Nhut Air Base nativename = image width = 300 caption = Ton Son Nhut Air Base June 1968 IATA = ICAO =None type = owner = operator = city served = location = elevation f = 33 elevation m = 10 website = r1 number =… …   Wikipedia

  • Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War — The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those… …   Wikipedia

  • Opposition to the Vietnam War — Articleissues cleanup = July 2008 essay = March 2008 globalize = July 2008 refimprove = June 2008Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War is significant because domestic protest in the U.S.A. eventually forced The United States… …   Wikipedia

  • David Hackworth — David H. Hackworth Hackworth in Zagreb, Croatia, December 1995 Nickname Hack Born …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”